PICTURE OF DANIEL N. HINE PICTURE OF JEROME P. HINE (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 625 Mr. Gastier is a member of the K. 0. T. M. at Bloomingville, Ohio, and he is independent in politics. His relations with his townspeople have always been of the most amicable order, and with his family he enjoys the genuine regard of the community at large. The family name is honored where it is known, and it stands for social integrity and good citizenship throughout the township. JEROME P. HINE. As a breeder and raiser of the Aberdeen Angus cattle, Jerome P. Hine has long had a reputation far beyond the limits of Erie County. Many years ago his father introduced into Ohio the first registered cattle of this breed direct from Scotland, and the subsequent enterprise which has grown up from this beginning is only one of the many important contributions made by members of the Hine family to the wealth and progress of Erie County. Mr. Hine's stock farm in Berlin Township near Shinrock postoffice is a model place of its kind and its improvements and adaptation to the uses of modern stock raising are the results of an exceptional degree of skill and study on the part a Mr. Hine. Only a few names in Erie County date back further than the Hine family, and while they have lived here for nearly a century their home on American soil dates back nearly three hundred years. Record is found of Thomas Hine and his wife Elizabeth at Milford, Connecticut, as early as 1640. Thomas probably came from Ireland but of Scotch .ancestry. One of his children was Stephen Hine, who was born October 26, 1663. Alexander, son of Stephen, was born February 10, 1698, and died at the age of sixty-eight. He married Mary Lines of New Haven, Connecticut, and they both died at Milford Among their children was Daniel, born May 7, 1734, and died June 4, 1798. He married Ruth Alling at New Haven, who was born October 8, 1738, and died June 13, 1777, of the smallpox. The next in this lineage was Daniel, Jr., who was born March 17, 1763, and died in Connecticut in 1805. He lived for many years at New Bethlehem. His wife, Abigail Cowles, was born August 20, 1765, and died at Berlin Heights in Erie County in 1836. Of the children of Daniel and Abigail, two of the sons; Jared, born in 1788, and Amos, born in 1790, came as early as 1816 by way of river, canal and lake, to Vermilion Township• in Erie County. They acquired tracts of the fire lands in Berlin Township, all of which at that time was a primeval wilderness. In 1818 the mother of these pioneers and other children came out to Erie County. Of those who came in 1818 there were Sheldon, who was born April 5, 1792 ; Permelia, who was born in 1795 and in 1812 had married Amos Bishop ; Nathaniel, who was born in 1797 ; and Charles, born in 1800. All of these children acquired landed possessions and developed new farms in Erie County, Nathaniel having located in Vermilion Township, while the others were early settlers in Berlin. In that generation farming was the regular vocation of the family, and it is doubtful-if any other single family furnished more substantial and useful citizens to this wilderness community than the Hines. All the children above mentioned were married and had families and spent their lives in Erie County. Of these, Sheldon Hine, grandfather of Jerome P., located on a wild farm at the foot of the hill near the Village of Berlin Heights on Old Woman's Creek. He died there in 1846. One of the results of his enterprise is still standing as solid as a rock, the old homestead which he constructed in addition to clearing the forest and improving the fields comprised within his farm. He was a man of more than ordinary importance in the community. Near his home he erected a sawmill, and from the timber on his own land sawed the lumber which went into the home already mentioned and which was built about 1840. He performed 626 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY a similar service for two of his sons on other farms in that community, and in 1848 his sons supplied the lumber for the construction of the home of the son, Daniel N., now owned by Jerome P. Hine. Sheldon Hine was marriedMay 5, 1815, at Bethlehem, Connecticut, to Sallie Osborn. She was born in Connecticut April 7, 1798, and died at the home of a son in Indiana in 1882, and now lies beside the body of her husband in the old Union Cemetery in Berlin Heights. A brief record of the children of Sheldon and wife is as follows : Lucius A., born February 22, 1819, became well known as a journalist and novelist, and died at Loveland, Ohio; he married Helen Chapin, who was born at Ithaca, New York, in 1828, and is still living at Loveland. Horatio, the second in the family, was born August 10, 1821, and died in De Kalb County, Indiana, December 15, 1896; his first wife was Cynthia B. Brooks, who was born in 1825 and died in 1853, and in 1857 he married Jane L. Brooks, a sister of his former wife, who was born in 1831 and is now living near Auburn, Indiana, where Horatio Hine was for many years a successful land and timber operator. The third child in the family was the late Daniel N. Hine, whose career is sketched more, fully in fol- lowing paragraphs. Julia, born May 10, 1827, was married in 1847 to a member of the Burnham family' mentioned elsewhere. Theodore B., born July 25, 1829, lived for many years'on the old homestead, became a vinegar manufacturer and subsequently prosecuted the same industry at Toledo, where he died in February, 1904; he married Lovina C. Reynolds, who was born in 1851 and is now deceased. Lemon G., who was born April 14, 1832, and recently died at Washington, D. C., was a prominent lawyer • and was especially well known in the business world as the organizer and the president of the Merganthaler Linotype Machine Company in America. Laura F., born October 28, 1836, and died at Denver, Colorado, in 1881, was twice married, her second husband being Col. Edward Powers, who was an officer in the Civil war. Daniel N. Hine, who was born in Erie County January 1, 1825, and died in Florida December 4, 1903, was in his time one of the foremost leaders in agricultural enterprise in Northern Ohio. As a farmer he acquired the ownership of 148 acres of land in Berlin Township, seventy acres of which is now included in the home of his son Jerome. There in 1848 was built the substantial house already mentioned and which has served as the home of two generations. In 1887 Daniel Hine removed to Nashua, Florida, where for many years he was engaged in the growing of citrus fruits. In 1881 he had made a trip to Scotland, where he bought seven head of registered Aberdeen Angus cattle, and these were the first specimens of that breed, noted for their value as meat cattle, to be brought to Ohio. He subsequently was ote of the promoters of the Aberdeen Angus Breeders' Association in America, and in 1887, when he removed to Florida, transferred his membership to his son Jerome, who is still a member of that organization and for nine years served as a director. Daniel Hine was a republican in ,politics, and a man whose activities and character made for himself a highly respected position in the community. At Florence in Erie County November 11, 1848, Daniel N. Hine married Marinda Brooks, who was born June 25, 1828, in Florence Township, and died at her home in Berlin Township November 13, 1894. Her parents were John and Adaline (Squires) Brooks, who came from New York State, and their marriage on March 15, 1818, was the first event of that character to be celebrated in Florence Township of Erie County. John Brooks was a pioneer farmer, but was perhaps best known for his skill as a hunter, and in the early days hunted all through the woods of Erie and surrounding counties. He and his wife lived to advanced age and died in Erie County. Early in her life and before her marriage HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 627 Mrs. Hine was a successful teacher in both Erie and Huron counties. That was in the day of the subscription school, and she was paid for her services a dollar a week and received board in the homes of the children who were her scholars. Her mother possessed the first two silver spoons that were made in Erie County, having been pounded out of silver dollars. Another interesting relic which belonged to Mrs. Hine and which is now a cherished possession of Jerome Hine is the necklace of a peculiar old-fashioned style, with gold bound ebony, which was made in England, and was originally an article of adornment for Mrs. Hine's grandmother. A concise record of the children of Daniel Hine and wife is as follows: Viola J., born October 10, 1849, is the wife of Charles E. Thorn, now director of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station at Wooster, Ohio. Arthur B., born October 19, 1852, is married and living at Los Angeles, California. Nora A., born April 26, 1860, was for a number of years a teacher and died unmarried at Pasadena, California, February 21, 1904. Lucius A., born August 17, 1862, is now president of the Hine-Watt Manufacturing Company at Chicago, manufacturers and jobbers of automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles and accessories and supplies, lives at Highland Park, near Chicago, and by his marriage to Winifred Otis has two sons. Bessie Douglas, born July 7, 1865, was married May 25, 1887, to John H. Galbraith, who is a graduate of the Ohio State University and is well known as a journalist, being assistant editor of the Columbus Dispatch and a correspondent for many newspapers; they are the parents, of three sons. Jerome P. Hine was born September 12, 1867, at the old Hine homestcad, which was also the birthplace of the other children. From early boyhood his inclinations were toward agriculture and stock raising, and after finishing his education in the Milan Normal School and the State University at Columbus he entered actively upon his chosen career. He is the owner of seventy acres in the old farm, and as already noted his specialty has been the breeding of Aberdeen Angus cattle. The Hine farm has sent out some of the finest specimens of this breed, and among stock raisers generally the farm has long had a standard reputation. For a number of years Mr. Hine exhibited his Aberdeen cattle all over the United States. In 1891 he took the grand prize for his herd in competition with exhibitors from all over the country, and both before and since his cattle have won many blue ribbons in local and state exhibitions. The farm has all the equipment necessary fog high grade stock farming and its handsome improvements constitute it one of the show places of Berlin Township. Mr. Hine still continues his work as a farmer and stock breeder, and his enterprise in that direction has long been considered an important' asset to the county. For two years he served as a lecturer before farmers' institutes. Mr. Hine was first married to Emma Irene Tillinghast, who was born in Berlin Heights January 2, 1875, and died at her home December 26, 1902. There are no children by that marriage. On January 5, 1905, Mr. Hine was married at Green Spring, Ohio, to Miss Elva Light, who prior to her marriage had been principal of the Berlin Heights High School. She was educated in the academy at Green Spring and in the Ohio Northern University at Ada. Mr. and Mrs. Hine have a fine family of growing children whose names and dates of births are as follows: Florence Elizabeth, born March 22, 1906, and now in the fourth grade of the public schools.; Daniel Light, born September 21, 1907, and in the third grade ; Elva Irene, November 26, 1909 ; Thomas S., July 23, 1911; and Jerome Brooks, November 23, 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Hine are members of the Congregational Church e Berlin Heights. He is an independent republican, is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Berlin Heights and of the Woodmen of the World at Shinrock. 628 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY ORRIN H. BRISTOL. That Mr. Bristol is ̊lie of the leading exponents of modern and scientific husbandry in Erie County needs no further voucher than the statement that he is retained in the responsible position of manager of the magnificent landed estate widely known under the title of Woodside Farms, in Perkins Township. This finely improved estate, owned by Watson Butler, a prominent capitalist of New York City, is eligibly situated within a short' distance of the City of Sandusky, at the south, and the efficient supervision that hag been given to the property by Mr. Bristol has resulted in bringing it up to the best standard in all particulars and in giving him precedence as one of the most vigorous and progressive representatives of the agricultural and live-stock industries in this section of the state. He has retained his present executive post since December, 1912, and has proved distinctively the right man in the right place, :the while his genial personality has gained to him the high regard of the community with which he has thus identified himself. Mr. Bristol was born in Huron County, Ohio, on the 9th of January, 1865, and is a son of Charles and Olive (Rogers) Bristol, the former of whom was born in Monroe County, ,New York, and the latter in the City of Watertown, Jefferson County, that state. The father of Charles Bristol was a gallant soldier in the War of 1812, as a member of a New York regiment, and of collateral kinship to the Bristol in was the man who operated and gave his name to the ferry that in turn gave title to the town of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia,—an historic point in connection with the military operations in the Civil War. Family tradition amply justifies the claim that the lineage of the Bristol family traces back to sterling English origin, and there is authority also for the statement that representatives of the name were among the early settlers of the Massachusetts colony and owned a part of the land on which the City of Boston is now situated. Charles Bristol became a prosperous farmer and representative citizen of Huron County, Ohio, and there he and his wife continued to reside until their death, secure in the high regard of all who knew them. Orrin H. Bristol was reared in his native county to adult age and from his boyhood to the present has maintained fellowship with the fundamental art and industry of agriculture. He - was afforded the advantages of the public schools and in later years has profited to the maximum degree from the lessons gained through active association with the practical duties and responsibilities of a signally alert and useful life. For a number of years he was engaged in farming in an independent way, first in Huron County and later in Paulding County. In July, 1894, he entered the employ of William H. Butler, owner of the large and well known Furnace Farm, in Paulding County. This estate comprised at the time 1,500 acres, and there Mr. Bristol gained valuable experience in the conducting of agricultural and stock-growing operations on an extensive scale and according to the most approved and progressive policies. In 1899 he was made manager of the fine landed estate, and it was largely under his personal direction that much of the land was reclaimed from the forest into seven excellent farms which are now among the best in Paulding County. He continued his association with this enterprise until he assumed his present and equally responsible position, in December, 1912. The Woodside Farms comprise 200 acres and the estate is given over almost entirely to the raising of the highest grades of live stock, including pure-bred Percheron horses and Guernsey cattle, besides which special attention is given to the raising of the White Leghorn single-comb poultry, the farms having wide reputation in each of these departments of enterprise. Each year the farms also give an appreciable acreage to the various cereals, and every HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 629 detail of the work receives the personal and careful supervision of Mr. Bristol, who is an enthusiast in his vocation and who 'gives close study to the scientific phases of farm work. It may naturally be inferred that a man of such vital energy and broad views could not fail to take a lively interest in community affairs, and Mr. Bristol is essentially progressive and public-spirited in his civic attitude, his political allegiance being given to the republican party. Mr. Bristol has been twice wedded, his first wife, whose maiden name was Jennie M. Clark, having been born and reared in Huron County, and she is survived by one daughter, Cora, who is now the wife of William H. Leeper, their home being in the State of Washing- ton. For his second wife Mr. Bristol married Miss Mary 0. Swisher, of Darke County, this state, and they have two children, Myrtie 0. and Ruth M. LEONARD. C. HILL. One of the citizens of Perkins Township is Leonard C. Hill, a resident of this community throughout the forty-two years of his life. Mr. Hill is the owner of 189 acres of good land, accumulated through his own efforts, and two vocations, farming and the wholesale produce business, have occupied his energies and attention. In each venture he has been successful in building up a satisfying enterprise, and the fact that all that he has gained has been acquired without the aid of others, makes his career all the more commendable. Mr. Hill was born on his father's farm in Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio, October 23, 1873, and is a son of Charles W. and Lucretia (Hoyt)' Hill, and a grandson of Hazen Hill, who was one of the early pioneers of Huron County, Ohio, where he took up a tract of land, developed a farm, and passed his career in the pursuits of the soil, dying on his original homestead. Charles W. Hill was born on the Huron County farm and was brought up to farming, in which he was engaged in Huron County at the tine of the outbreak between the North and the South. In 1861 he enlisted as a private in ah Ohio regiment of volunteers, and fought bravely as a soldier until• the close of the Civil war, when he received his honorable discharge. Shortly afterward, Mr. Hill, having heard of the opportunities offered the ambitious in Erie County, came to this locality and after looking the ground over finally settled on the farm which is now occupied by his son, Leonard C. Perkins Township continued to be his home until the close of his life, which occurred in 1906. He was a man of thrift, honesty and industry, having probably inherited these characteristics from Scotch ancestors, and was favorably known in his community as a good and reliable citizen. He married Miss Lucretia Hoyt, a native of Perkins Township, and of their children four now survive : Oscar G., who is a resident of Huron, Ohio; Leonard C., of this review ; Hattie L., who is the wife of Jesse Green, a farmer of Perkins Township ; and Vernon W., whose home is at Sandusky. Leonard C. Hill was brought up as a farm boy and spent his boyhood and youth on his father's place, where he was carefully trained in the numerous lessons necessary to be learned by those who would succeed as farmers. In the meantime his literary education was not being neglected, for the public schools furnished him with the foundation for this and later he attended the Sandusky Business College. After leaving the latter institution he returned to the parental roof, and at the time of his father's death, in 1906, took, over the management of the farm, where he has since continued to carry on operations. He now has 189 acres of fertile soil under a high state of cultivation, and this he devotes to general farming, raising all the grains and other products for which this climate is suitable. His tract is supplied with comfort- 630 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY able and commodious buildings and every facility for conducting agriculture to the best advantage. As a citizen he has shown himself intelligent and enterprising, with the courage of his convictions and a; broad knowledge of current affairs, and being thus favorably situated is a valuable man for any up-to-date community to possess., He is a warm supporter of the cause of education, and has served capably for three years as a member of the school board of Perkins Township, during which time he did all in his power to better the school system. In political matters he has always been a republican. Mr. Hill is a valued member of the local Grange, and has also shown his interest in fraternal affairs by his membership in the Knights of the Maccabees at Bloomingville, Ohio. Mr. Hill was married to Miss Rose V. House, who was born in Perkins Township, daughter of the late Lindsey and Mary A. (Young) House. Her grandfather, Julius House, was one of the earliest Pioneers of Perkins Township, and her father, who is now deceased, was brought here when three years of age and became one of the leading citizens and influential agriculturists of the township, his homestead being .located in the vicinity of Perkins Church. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill; namely : Hazen L., Lawrence L., Mildred J., Grant J. and Theodore. LEROY J. PARKER. Agricultural conditions in Erie County have changed to such an extent during the past several decades, that the enterprising and up-to-date farmer has been compelled to revolutionize in large degree, his methods of treating the 'soil. New discoveries have been made, powerful and intricate machinery has been invented and new innovations are constantly being introduced, with the result that he who would secure a full measure of success from his labors must keep himself fully conversant with the steady advancement that is being made. In Perkins Township, one who has shown himself capable of keeping abreast of the times and at the same time of serving his community in offices of public trust and importance is Leroy J. Parker, on the old Parker homestead, located on Sandusky R. F. D. 1. Mr. Parker has spent his entire life here, and was born on this property May 30, 1880, being the only son and child of George B. and Marian (House) Parker. The Parker family originated in England, from which country came Joshua Parker, the grandfather of Leroy J. He located at Monroeville, Ohio, and subsequently was for a number of years-engaged in farming in Huron County, where his death occurred. Born at Monroeville, George B. Parker was reared in Huron County, where he received a good education, and at the age of eighteen years came to Erie County, which continued to be his home ever afterwards. For a time he resided at Sandusky, but later moved into Perkins Township, locating on the farm which is now occupied by his widow. He was a skilled, industrious and thrifty farmer and was successful in the accumulation of a good property, on which he died September 23, 1914. For many years he served as a trustee of Perkins Township, winning the confidence and esteem of his community by the able and conscientious manner in which he performed his duties. Throughout his life, he supported the principles and candidates of the republican party, and was considered one of the "wheel-horses" of his party in this locality. He was a member of the local Grange and master therein. His religious faith was that of the 1\lethodist Episcopal Church, which he attended as a member of Perkins congregation. Mrs. Marian (House) Parker was born in Perkins Township, in 1856, and is a daughter of Lindsey and Mary A. (Young) House, and a granddaughter of Julius House. The latter was born in Connecticut, HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 631 and several years after the birth of his son Lindsey, emigrated to Erie County and settled in the woods of Perkins Township. There he passed the remaining years of his life in agricultural pursuits. He was one of the leading men of the community, served many years as justice of the peace, and was widely known as "Squire House." Lindsey House was also born in Connecticut and was three years of age when brought to Erie County and Perkins Township. He passed his entire life here in farming pursuits, accumulated a competency and gained a high place in the esteem of the community. " He and his wife were the parents of the following children : Atha, deceased; Laura, the widow of John DeWitt, of Perkins Township ; Julius, a farmer of Perkins Township ; Ada, the wife of Willard Curtiss of Pasadena, California ; Mina, the wife of A. A. Storrs, of Perkins Township ; Marian, who is now Mrs.' Parker ; Lewis W., of Perkins Township; and Rose V., the wife of Leonard Hill, of Perkins Township. Leroy J. Parker received his early education in the public schools of Perkins Township, this being followed by attendance at the Sandusky High School. He next enrolled as a student at the Sandusky Business College, and when he had completed his course in that institution he returned to the home farm. As manager of this property he has brought it to a high state of cultivation, raising large crops and breed-' ing good livestock, and the commodious buildings, the well kept fences and drains, the improved machinery and the general air of prosperity all testify to the presence of a capable guiding hand. Mr. Parker married Miss Ada L. Steen, daughter of Charles Steen, of Perkins Township, and to this union there have been born four children: Glenn, Steen, Paul and Jenet. A republican in his political affairs, Mr. Parker has taken an active part in public life, and has served capably as clerk of Perkins Township for seven years and at present is deputy assessor. He is a valued member of the Perkins Grange, and has taken an active and helpful part in its work. HERMAN W. OTTO. A resident of Erie County since his childhood, Mr. Otto maintains his abode on his well improved farm lying contiguous to the City of Sandusky, in Perkins Township, and on the highway that is virtually a continuation of South Hayes Avenue of the metropolis and judicial center of the county. He is one of the progressive and substantial citizens of Perkins Township, earnest in support of agencies and measures that tend to advance the general welfare of the community, and held in high esteem in the county that has represented his home for more than half a century. His present farm, which comprises fifty acres, is one on which Mr. Otto at one time worked by the month. It is conducted as a dairy farm, in addition to its operations in diversified agriculture and the raising of a considerable quantity of fruit. Mr. Otto was born on Long Island, New York, on the 13th of October, 1856, and is a son of Franz J. M. and Sophia (Hutter) Otto, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in. England, where their marriage was solemnized. The parents immigrated to America in the early '50s and remained Thr some time on Long Island, after which they resided in the interior of the State of New York until their removal to Erie County, Ohio. After passing an interval in what is now the City of Sandusky, they removed to a farm in Perkins Township, and here they passed the remainder of their lives, the father having passed away in March, 1911, and the mother's death having occurred about 1890. Concerning their surviving children the following brief data are given : Franz T. is now a resident of the State of California ; Jennie A. resides in the City of Sandusky ; Fredericka H., Clara J. and 632 - HISTORY OF ERIE, COUNTY Herman W, are all residents of Perkins Township ; and Albert. G. is a representative attorney at law in the City of Indianapolis, Indiana. The father was a man of sterling character, well fortified convictions and utmost civic loyalty, his support having been given to the cause of the republican party and he having been one of the honored pioneer citizens of Perkins Township at the time of his death. Herman W. Otto was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and was afforded the advantages of the public schools of the City of Sandusky. He has made a success as a farmer, dairyman and man of affairs, and is one of the influential citizens of Perkins TownShip, where he has served ten years as a member of the school board, of which he has been the president since 1911, his political allegiance being- given to the republican party and his co-operation being given in all things tending to promote the social and material prosperity and progress of the community. Mr. Otto chose as his wife Miss Franceska Oswald, who was born and reared in Sandusky and who is a daughter of the late Andreas Oswald, an old and honored citizen • of that place. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Otto: Walter H. and Elmer B. are identified with business enterprises in the City of Sandusky ; Jennie is the wife of Norman Ott, of that city ; and Edith B., Eleanora J., Frederick J. and Alverna R. remain at the parental home, which is known for its generous and unostentatious hospitality. SIMON REIS. Located within convenient transportation of the central market of Sandusky is the fine dairy farm of Simon Reis, on Rural Delivery Route No. 3, in Perkins Township. Mr. Reis is an enterprising young man who spent his early career in the City of Sandusky, but about̊ sixteen or seventeen years ago turned his attention to dairying, acquire!" a farm, and is now proprietor of the attractive "Long Green Farm." It contains ninety-eight acres and is devoted to dairy purposes. It has been the steady purpose of Mr. Reis to furnish the highest grade of dairy products and his success is due to the carrying out of well matured plans looking to that end. Simon Reis was born in Erie County, Ohio, August 10, 1870, a son of John and Mary Reis. Both his parents were natives of Germany, came to America many years ago, and after their marriage located in Sandusky, where they lived for several years and where the father died. Simon Reis spent his childhood and youth in Sandusky, attended the public schools of that city, and made himself useful and self-supporting from an early age. He is the architect of his own fortune and has never depended upon anyone else to make his fortune. In 1898 he removed to Perkins Township, and since that date has been actively identified with the dairy industry. His farm is on the Columbus Pike and he thus has a convenient route of transportation to market. Mr. Reis married Miss Dora Linkebach, who was born in Sandusky, a daughter of Charles Linkebach, a late resident of that city. To their marriage has been borne one daughter, Minnie L. Mr. Reis is a republican in politics, and has never withheld his support from any worthy enterprise in his locality. In November, 1913, he was elected a trustee of Perkins Township for one term, and has also served as a director of School District No. 5 in Perkins Township. He takes an interest in education, and accepts every opportunity to advance the welfare of his home community. He is successful as a business man, and is well known and enjoys the good will of a large acquaintance. ALBERT UMBER. Coming from his German Fatherland to America as a young man of sterling integrity and ambitious purpose, Mr. Umber PICTURE OF JOHN AND WILHELMINA RITZ HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 633 has been a resident of Erie County for more than forty years and has here found ample opportunity for the achievement of definite prosperity through his well directed efforts in connection with the basic industries of agriculture and stock-growing. Now venerable in years, he is one of the highly esteemed citizens of Perkins Township, where he is living virtually retired on his well improved homestead farm of sixty-five acres. He still gives a general supervision to the farm, which has been brought to a high state of cultivation and is equipped with excellent improvements of a permanent order,-all this representing the results of the thrift and enterprise of Mr. Umber, who has been, the owner of the property for fully forty years. Mr. Umber was born in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, on the 19th of July, 1842, and is a scion of a family there established for many generations. He is a son of Casper and Catherine (Schlachter) Umber, both of whom passed their entire lives in Baden, where the father was a farmer by vocation. Albert Umber was but six years of age 'at the time of his father's death, but the position of the family was such that he was not thereby denied the advantages of the excellent schools of his native place. He received a good common-school training and continued to reside in the fatherland until he was about twenty- seven years of age, when, in 1869, he severed the ties that bound him to the land of his nativity and set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States. Soon after his arrival in the port of New York City Mr. Umber made his way to Ohio and became a resident of Erie County. He found employment in the City of Sandusky, where he remained until 1874, when he removed to Perkins Township, where he has continued his association with farming enterprises during the long intervening years and where he has achieved success that is worthy of its name. He has exemplified the energy and mature judgment for which our valued German element of citizenship has always been notable, has retained the confidence and good will of the people of the community that has so long represented his home, and is one of the substantial and loyal citizens of Erie County. He is a stanch supporter of the cause of the democratic party, and both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic Church, in which they hold membership in the parish of St. Mary's Church in the City of Sandusky. In the year 1866 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Umber to Miss Louise Walchle, who was born in Switzerland, and they have six children, concerning whom the following brief record is entered: Louise is the wife of Frank Keller, a farmer of Perkins Township ; Albertine is the wife of John Ott and they reside at Peru, Huron County ; Rose 'is the wife of Charles Ott and they maintain their home in the City of Cleveland ; Leona is the wife of Frederick Dehe of Sandusky ; Bertha is the wife of Charles Holtz, of the same city ; and Miss Clara remains at the parental home. JOHN RITZ, SR. For fully sixty years John Ritz, Sr., has had his home in Erie County. Now in his- eightieth year, he can look back upon many substantial accomplishments, and has the satisfaction of having acquired a-liberal competence and having provided well for his children, giving each a good start in life. He himself came to Erie County with very little of this world's goods, and none of the older residents have spent their years more industriously, more uprightly, and have deserved a greater share of public esteem. The Ritz family came out of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, where they were of the farming class and forl several generations had lived quiet, sober and industrious lives. John Ritz, Sr., was born in that province April 29, 1836, a son of John and Elizabeth (Fike) Ritz, who were Vol. II-11 634 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY natives of the same town and province. His father was born in 1811 and his mother in 1809, and they were married there about 1838. Of their five children all died young except John. On July 4, 1855, the parents and this one son took passage at Bremerhaven on the sailing vessel Wilhelminia, from which they landed in New York City August 24th and arrived at Norwalk, Ohio, on the 30th day of August in the same year. They soon after reached their chosen locality in Berlin Township, where they established themselves in a humble log cabin, with twenty-five acres of stump land. Out of this they evolved a home and a considerable degree of prosperity before the parents died. The father and son worked together for a number of years and accumulated more land until they owned eighty-five acres. On their first farm the pargnts lived for a number of years, then moved to another small place now owned by Charles Sipp, and there Mr. Ritz's mother died in the fall of 1886. His father about a year later returned to Germany with the intention of remaining there permanently, but in a few months became discontented and started again for America, taking passage in an emigrant boat where the passengers were so ill treated that, being then an old man, he was injured in body and health when he landed on May 6, 1889. Setting out for the home of his son he reached his brother's place in Norwalk and died there May 11th. He and his wife were confirmed members of the Lutheran Church. The only representative of the next generation in Erie County, John Ritz, Sr., secured his early education in Germany and was about nineteen years old when he came to Erie County. In association with his father and independently he became a prosperous farmer and accumulated land from which he gave to his sons about 200 acres, and still owns a fine farm in Berlin Township on Rural Route No. 2 out of Huron, comprising fifty acres. Nearly all this land has been well improved under his management and it contains four different sets of farm buildings. He has laid many rods of tile and though the land has seen many years of successive cropping it is still highly productive and would bring as high price per acre as perhaps any other farm in Berlin Township. Mr. Ritz and wife have an attractive and comfortable home, an eight- room dwelling, and there is a large barn 36x60 feet. All the buildings are in good repair and as a farmer he has been successful in raising the staple crops of corn, wheat and oats. On August 24, 1860, at Norwalk in Huron County, Mr. Ritz married Miss J. Wilhelmina Foss, who was born in the Kingdom of Hanover, Germany, May 13;1828. Both her grandparents and parents spent their lives in Hanover, and were all quite old before they died. Her parents were Frederick and Maria (Lavas) Foss, and her father was a ship carpenter. It was a substantial German family and all were members of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Ritz was the only one of the several children born to her parents who reached maturity, and in 1857 in company with several other young women from the same neighborhood she took passage on the stanch sailing ship Cledo and four weeks later landed in Castle Garden. She came on west to Norwalk, Ohio, and there entered the domestic service of the well known banker, Mr. Gardner; and was also in the home of Mr. Pennewell until her marriage. She has been a most capable wife and mother, has shared with her husband the credit of their liberal prosperity, and the large family of children and grandchildren gladly pay her love and respect. John Ritz, Sr., and wife had nine children born into their home. The oldest, John, Jr., is a prosperous citizen of Erie County mentioned on other pages. Elizabeth is the wife of Charles Lander, another well known Berlin Township farmer. Emma is unmarried and living at home. Sabina is the wife of Jay Young, living at Shinrock in Berlin Township, and they have a daughter named HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 635 Mylitta. Fred, who lives at Norwalk; married Anna Burch, and their two children are Theodora and Aletha. Ca,the'rine is the wife of David Simpson, a merchant in Oakshade, and their daughter is named Agnes. Peter W. is a farmer in Berlin Township and married Lenore Abby. Theodore and Lewis are twins, both farmers in Berlin Township, and Theodore by his marriage to Nellie Burdue has two children named Robert and Lyle, and Lewis Ritz married Tessie A. Sarr, and they have a son and daughter, Olive and Eldred. Mr. and Mrs. Ritz were both reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, but are not regular members of any society of that faith. JOHN JARRETT. Of a family that has been identified with Erie. County through three generations, John Jarrett is a native son of the county, and for many years has been engaged in the well ordered enterprise of agriculture in Perkins Township. Mr. Jarrett is a businesslike farmer, and a citizen whom the people of that community respect for his many sterling traits of character. Born in Huron Township of Erie County September 3, 1868, John Jarrett is a son of Henry and Delia (Tillotson) Jarrett. His father was born in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, of English extraction, and when a child was brought to Erie County by his parents, who were among the early settlers. The Tillotson family is said to have originated in the Highlands of Scotland. Henry Jarrett was reared in Perkins Township, and on reaching years of maturity went out to Iowa, but remained in that state only a brief while, after which he returned to Erie County and bought a farm south of Bogart and was one of the prosperous agriculturists in that section until his death on April 29, 1897. His death came as a result of an accident which he received in Sandusky. He was a republican in politics and a member of the Perkins Methodist Episcopal Church. He was also affiliated with the Masonic order at Huron, and he was buried with Masonic ceremonies at Oakland Cemetery at Sandusky. Mr. John Jarrett grew up in Huron Township, was educated in the public schools and also had the benefit of instruction in the normal school at Milan, and for a time was in the college at Ada. His chief occupation through his active career of about thirty years has been farming, and he now owns 133 acres in Perkins Township, a farm that is well improved with buildings and has been made to produce abundantly of general crops and stock. On February 28, 1908, Mr. Jarrett married Marie Ray, who was born in Erie County, a daughter of the late John Ray, a resident of Huron Township. Mr. Jarrett is a republican in politics, and a public spirited citizen who puts himself behind any movement that is for the benefit of the community. JOHN P. WALDOCK. About four miles out from Sandusky in Perkins Township on South Hayes Avenue, is the Waldock farm. It is owner and proprietor, Mr. John P. Waldock, has spent a very active career in Erie County, and for a great many years was associated with his father in the stock buying and butcher business. His activities are now those of a general farmer, and his business success is coupled with an uprightness of character and a public spirit which make him one of the effective leaders in Perkins Township. His birth occurred in England sixty miles from the City of London, August 23, 1852. His parents were Frederick D. and Fannie (Green) Waldock, who were also natives of England, and the Waldocks have a lineage in that country extending back for a number of generations. In 1857 the family emigrated to America, and located in Erie County. 636 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY For a number of years their home was in Oxford. Township, but later they came to Perkins Township and settled in the woods. While the Waldocks came after the first generation of pioneers, they lived in conditions that approached those of pioneer times, and added their share to the improvements which have transformed Perkins Township during the last century. Frederick D. Waldock became well known as a stockman and wholesale butcher, and conducted agriculture at the same time. He was practically the first to engage in butchering on a large scale in that part of Erie County. Though a poor man when he came from England he was prosperous in his endeavors and at the time of his death owned an estate of 365 acres. He was a republican in politics, a man of utmost public spirit, and he and his wife were among the founders and long active members of Sandhill Methodist Episcopal Church. Through his. extended business relations he became known not only in Erie County but in adjoining sections of Northern Ohio. His death occurred October 12, 1911, and his wife passed away December 13, 1912. Reared to man's estate in Perkins Township, John P. Waldock has possessed that self reliant nature which enables a man to succeed independently of circumstances. For his education he attended the Bloomingville public schools, but gained most of his knowledge by practical experience. In 1877 he married Lydia Koehler, who was born in Perkins Township, a daughter of Jacob and Annie (Easterday) Koehler, who were early settlers of Perkins Township. Her father was a native of Germany and 'her mother of Crawford County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Waldock have two children. Gladys A. is the wife of Jesse Hummel of Perkins Township. The son Eugene F. still lives in Perkins Township. Mr. Waldock and his family attend the Sandhill Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a republican in politics, and a fine type of public spirited citizen. For over a quarter of a century he assisted his father in the wholesale butcher business, and there should also be mentioned to his credit the work he did in helping to clear up about eighty acres of land and remove the timber and place it in cultivation. HENRY L. SCHEID. Oxford Township has no more sterling citizen and practical man of affairs than Henry L. Scheid, who is now serving as township treasurer and during the last fifteen or twenty years has been variously identified, always helpfully and progressively, with local affairs. His father was one of the fine old citizens who came into Erie County from Germany, and Mr. Scheid now resides on and occupies the farm which his father hewed out of the wilderness in Oxford Township. As a farmer Mr. Scheid has the operations of 235 acres of land, and having made this industry profitable to himself has laid a substantial basis for the confidence which he enjoys as a citizen. Besides acting as township treasurer he is also a member of the board of education of the township. He was born in that section of Erie County on August 8, 1866, being a son of the late Peter and Catherine (Heuser) Scheid. His parents were both born in the old Duchy of Nassau, Germany. Peter Scheid was still a youth when he came to America with a brother, and had been educated in the common schools of his native land. He lived for a time in Huron County and then settled in Oxford Township of Erie County on the farm now occupied by his son Henry. He was one of the early settlers of his. nationality in Oxford Township, and pursued a long and industrious career until his death in October, .1905. Of his children six survive : Charles P. of Milan, Ohio; Henry L., of Oxford Township ; Catherine, wife of G. W. Waldock of Perkins Township ; Louis W. of Huron Township ; Julia, wife of V. Pascoe of Sandusky ; HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 637 and Alda M. of Milan. Peter Scheid likewise held the office of township treasurer in his time, and was also a trustee. His widow is now living at the age of seventy-three, residing at Milan. Henry L. Scheid grew up on the farm where he now resides and attended the local schools, supplementing this education by further training in the private normal school at Milan: Since reaching manhood he has given his endeavors to farming as a vocation and now has one of the best improved places in Oxford Township, every building, fence and field giving evidence of his thrifty and capable husbandry. For a number of years he has been a member of the township, board of education, served several years as president of the board, and still looks after the interests of the schools in his locality. His appointment as treasurer of Oxford Township came in May, 1915, but he had previously served two terms in the same office. Mr. Scheid married Miss Louise Mowry of Oxford Township, daughter of John Mowry, a late resident of that locality. The mother is still living in the township. To their marriage were born five children : Ethel M., Catherine L. Dorothy, J. Peter and Robert. With his family Mr. Scheid is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church at Union Corners in Milan Township, and is one of the trustees of that congregation. WILLIAM C. MARSHALL. One of the well improved farms of Perkins Township is that owned by Mr. Marshall, who has been a resident of Erie from his boyhood days, though he claims Michigan as the place of his nativity, his parents having been residents of that state for only a few years. Mr. Marshall was born in Calhoun County, Michigan, on the 20th of January, 1858, and is a son of Joseph and Lucinda (Chapman) Marshall, the former of whom was born in England, in 1821, and the latter of whom was a native of the State of Connecticut. Joseph Marshall was reared and educated in his native land, and in 1841, when twenty years of age,- he came to America and establish his residence in Erie County, Ohio, where he continued to reside during the remainder of his life, save for a period of four years passed in Michigan. He was one of the prosperous farmers and highly esteemed citizens of Perkins Township for many years and here died on his old homestead, in the '90s, his wife having survived him by only a few months. Of their children three are living ,—Hannah, who is the wife of Charles Keller, of Toledo, this state ; Rose, who is the wife of Solomon Sheffel, a prosperous farmer of Perkins Township ; and William C., who is the immediate subject of this review. William C. Marshall was reared to adult age on his father's farm in Perkins Township and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the schools of the locality and period. He has been continuously identified with agricultural pursuits in Erie County and his excellent farm, which comprises forty-three acres, is under effective cultivation, with every evidence of thrift and prosperity, though its comparatively small area does not imply that the owner has not consulted expediency by concentration of effort and by obtaining the maximum returns for his well ordered endeavors as a general agriculturist and stock-grower. Mr. Marshall is a man of strong individuality, is well fortified in his conviction and has the buoyant and genial temperament which ever begets popular confidence and good will. He is one of the progressive and public-spirited citizens of Perkins Township, is a stanch republican in his political proclivities, and he served four years in the office of township trustee, a preferment indicating the estimate placed upon him in the community that has so long represented his home. He and his 638 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, wife are active members of Perkins Grange, Patrons^ of Husbandry ; he is affiliated with the lodge of Free & Accepted Masons in the village of Milan; at Bloomingville he is a prominent member of the Knights of the Maccabees of the World, in which he has held various official positions, including that of commander. He has achieved pro§perity through his own efforts and he and his wife enjoy unalloyed popularity in the social circles of their home township. On the 1st of January, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Marshall to Miss Lucy Graves, who was born in Huron Township, this county, and who, is a daughter of Chester and Caroline (Sharp) Graves, the former of whom was born in one of the New England states and the latter of whom was a native of England. Mrs. Marshall was but seven years old at the time of her mother's death and was reared to adult age in the home of a neighbor family in Perkins Township, where she was afforded the advantages of the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall have four children : Edna L. is the wife of Henry K. Zorn, of Sandusky ; Earl J. is one of the energetic young farmers of Perkins Township ; Raymond C. is employed in the City of Sandusky ; and Ida A. is the wife of Floyd Coombs, of Sandusky. JAMES E. POST. A name that has been identified for more than half a century with the Great Lakes marine and the fishing industry is that of Post. James E. Post of Huron has been active as A fisherman in that village for a quarter of a century and now operates a business of his own, each year taking many tons of fish out of Lake 'Erie, and is also one of the substantial citizens of Huron, where he is serving on the village council. Mr. Post recently completed a beautiful modern home on Center Street, the best residential street of Huron, and there he and his family enjoy the comforts of modern life, their home being equipped with all conveniences, and it is also one of the attractive centers of social affairs. Capt. John E. Post, father of James E., is one of the best known of the veterans in the lake and fishing service of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. His career covers a period of more than sixty years. He began as a fisherman when still a boy at Fairport, Ohio, and some years later became a sailor with his uncle Bliss Wilcox, and was finally graduated to the responsibilities of both captain and master. He had charge of one of the boats of his uncle for a number of years, and later became an independent operator as a fisherman, with headquarters at Fairport. His aetive career continued along those lines for forty years, in fact until his death at Painesville in Lake County twelve years ago. At that time he was sixty-eight years old. Captain Post was born in the State of Connecticut in 1834 of Quaker parentage. His father, Daniel Post, brought his family to Ohio in 1836, making the journey by land with wagons and ox teams as far as Buffalo, and then embarking on a small lake vessel which carried them to Fairport, Ohio. Daniel Post located on a farm near that village, improved his land, and continued to reside there until his death. He was seventy-two years old, while his wife reached the age of ninety-one. After they came to Ohio they transferred their membership from the Quaker Church to the Congregational Church. After John E. Post became captain of a lake boat he carried the first cargo of iron ore shipped into the harbor of Lorain, Ohio. That was before the Civil war. He was one of the best known mariners on Lake Erie in his lifetime and had a large acquaintance in nearly all the harbors and lake towns of Northern Ohio. Mr. Post was married in Painesville, Ohio, to Margaret Allen, who was born in Lake County, Ohio, and died there in 1898 at the age of fifty-eight. She was a woman HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 639 of great worth, kindly character, and a devoted mother. Her children were as follows : Thomas, now a fisherman at Ashtabula, Ohio, is married and has two daughters ; Elizabeth is the wife of John Gibson of Painesville, and has a large family of sons and daughters; the next in order of the children is James E.; Jasper lives in Cleveland and is married ; Mary is the wife of Joseph Kieffer of Cleveland and has two sons and one daughter ; Lena is the wife of George Watters of Ashtabula and has one daughter ; John E., Jr., died at the age of four years. James E. Post was born at Painesville, Lake County, Ohio, July 4, 1871, and up to the age of thirteen lived at home and had the advantages of the local schools. At that tender age he got his first experience as a practical sailor and fisherman, soon acquired a proficiency which made him invaluable to his father, and continued to be associated with Captain Post until 1890. In that year he removed to Huron and found employment as a fisherman and docks engineer, and that was his regular work until 1910. In that year Mr. Post became an independent operator in the fishing industry, and has an equipment for fishing with gill net and trap net. All his operations are in Lake Erie waters and his large catch sold to the Kishman Fish Company. Mr. Post was married in Huron to Frankie M. Barram. She was born in Huron September 27, 1872, and was educated both in the grade and the high schools. Her parents were John S. and Margaret (Gar'ritt) Barram, who are still living in Huron, now full of years. Her father is of English and her mother of German ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Post have a daughter, Leota D., aged eighteen, and a graduate in. 1914 from the Huron High School, and Helen Barram, who is now in the first year of the high school. Mr. and Mrs. Post and daughters attend the Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. Post and her daughters are active members. Mr. Post is republican, is affiliated with and has passed the chairs in Huron Lodge No. 504, Knights of Pythias, and enjoys a splendid popularity as a citizen and business man and his name is familiar to the fishing and lake trade all around the southern shore of Lake Erie. C. SCOTT. In naming the men or firms most active in the fishing industry along the lake shore and Erie County, one that collies first to claim attention is that of Scott. The firm of C. Scott & Sons have one of the largest establishments and are among the most extensive operators in the waters of Lake Erie. Mr. Scott, the head of the firm, has been engaged, in fishing from the Port of Huron for nearly a quarter of a century and in recent years his son William has been his capable assistant and partner. They have a large amount of capital invested in boats, nets and warehouses. They operate thirty large double pannel trap nets of the Earl pattern, known among fishermen as the "hell devil" net. Each of these nets measure from 22 to 25 rods in length, and with such equipment and with their experience and skill in placing the nets the firm produce a large annual catch and dispose of it direct to wholesale dealers. The greater part of the fish taken by this firm are blue pike. Mr. Scott is known among all his friends and acquaintances as a man of absolute veracity, and the truth of the following record catch in his experience can therefore be vouched as accurate. It was in the '80s when he was with a fishing crew that took up from one pound net seventeen tons of herring at one catch. He has been active in the fishing industry since 1876, operating both pound and trap nets, and has been on his own account since 1882. During most of this time he has worked with the modern trap net. With Mr. Scott this has been a life industry and vocation, and his record is such as to place him among the leading business men of Erie County. His son William has been associated with him in the industry for the past ten years, and 640 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY has brought to the business not only capable experience but the use and energy of a younger generation. The firm has among its equipment a twine and net house that is one of the most modern along the lake Shore, standing on a foundation 30x60 feet, with a full sized loft. ThisJarge house is necessary for the storage of the nets and also for repairing, since the heavy weather is necessarily destructive to this part of the equipment. The fishing season runs about eight month's in the year, beginning after March 15th, which is the legal date of the opening. During July and August it is not practicable to fish in Lake Erie, but without exception the open season extends until the waters are closed by winter. Mr: C. Scott has been a resident of Huron since the fall Of 1877. He was born in Huron County, Ohio, March 4, 1856, and spent the first fifteen years of his life in that locality. He then became identified with the activities along the lake shore, and at the age of twenty was employed as a regular fisherman at Stoney Point, Michigan. Eighteen months later he removed to Huron, and that village has been the headquarters of his constantly expanding operations. It is not surprising, considering the energy with which he has pursued, his calling and the business like judgment which has regulated its management, that Mr. Scott is a man of substantial fortune. He comes of old New England stock on both sides of his parentage. His parents were among the pioneers in Northern Ohio, and knew Huron when it was only a cluster of little houses around the harbor. Edward M. Scott, the father of Mr. Canaris Scott, was one of the remarkable men of Northern Ohio in his time. He was a native of Connecticut of New England parentage, born in 1808, grew up in his native state, and was married there to Lucinda J. Hyatt, who was of similar birth and ancestry. Not long after their marriage, in the early '30s, they came out to the Western Reserve of Ohio, making their journey by slow stages according to the primitive transportation methods of the time, and arriving at the little Port of Huron on the vessel Eliza Jenkins All the surrounding country was then almost an unbroken wilderness, and it presented a splendid field for the skill and energies of Edward Scott. His life work was that of fisherman, trapper and hunter. Many stories have been written about the marvelous skill, endurance and craft of the American woodsmen, and it can be truthfully said that Edward Scott was the peer of any of his kind. For their ability in combating the hardships and solving the problems of the virgin forests the Indians have been given a reputation for prowess above all races, and yet Edward Scott possessed the unerring instinct of the Indian, was his equal in handling gun or boat, possessed the same qualities of wood craft in tracking and hunting the wild creatures of the forest, had a like courage in the presence of danger, and could endure the rigors of exposure, heat or cold, hunger and thirst, along with the best of the red men. It is said that he would take his hunting boat where no one else dared venture, and has been known to shoot his frail craft over river dams ten feet high without upsetting. He was absolutely fearless, and at the same time his courage was fortified with a marvelous skill which was sufficient to instill in him absolute confidence. Edward Scott might well be called the Kit Carson or Daniel Boone of all this region. As a marksman many stories are told of him. It is said that he could take his trusty rifle and at a distance of twenty paces strike the head of a ten-penny nail and drive it into the hardwood. In such exhibitions he seldom failed his mark. He enjoyed all the romantic experiences of the frontier and as a hunter, fisher and trapper was one of the best known characters all around Lake Erie. Like many of his kind, he possessed an inordinate love of nature, especially in its primitive dress, and spent practically all his life in the untrammeled freedom of the great woods >br> PICTURE OF PHILIP A. HUFFMAN HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 641 and the streams. Many of his later years were passed at Milan in Erie County, and he was almost constantly in the woods that bordered the Huron River. He died at Milan in August, 1871. His widow subsequently came to the home of her son, Mr: C. Scott, in Huron, and died there April 1, 1903. She was born May 6, 1815, and was therefore nearly eighty years of age at the time of her death. Edward Scott was a republican in politics, and he and his wife were reared as Baptists, but were members of no church in later years. Mr. C. Scott is the youngest living out of a family of eleven children. There are four daughters and three of the sons still living, and are married and heads of families. Mr. Scott married a Huron girl, Louisa Ochs. She was born at Huron in September, .1856, and grew up and was educated in that vicinity. Her father, Wilhelm Ochs, was a native of Germany, came to the United States when a young man, and in Erie County married Lavina Wolverton. After their marriage they began housekeeping in Huron. Mr. Ochs, though he had learned the trade of potter, found no occupation in that work, and for a number of years was engaged in teaming which formed the bulk of his active life. He and his wife died in Huron when about seventy years of age. He was a republican in politics, and the Ochs family was represented among the best citizenship of that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have a family of capable children who do them honor. Clarence, the oldest, was born reared and educated in Huron, was formerly a stenographer and is now connected with an illuminating company at Cleveland, and married Hazel Brown. William E. Scott, now twenty-nine years of age, was born in Huron, graduated in 1905 from the high school, and since that date has been actively associated with his father in the fishing industry under the name C. Scott & Son. He married Carrie Beatty, and at their home on Homan Street they have two sons, Harland and Edwin W. Clara L. is the wife of Louis F. Rope, a brick mason at Akron, and they have a son named Robert Scott. Mildred L., who graduated from the local high school, is now a student m domestic science at the normal school in Kent, Ohio. Mr. Scott is a republican in politics, an ex-member of the council at Huron and also of the board of education. The children were reared in the Presbyterian faith as their religion. PHILIP A. HUFFMAN. The benefits conferred upon the community by such a citizen as the late Philip A. Huffman should not soon be forgotten, and this brief memorial to his life.and the record of his family relationship in Erie County are only an attempt' to give credit where credit is due to a man who was for many years industrious and successful as a farmer, had served his country well as a soldier during the trying days of the Civil war, and bore himself uprightly in all the varied relations of life. When this excellent citizen passed away at his home in Berlin Township on July 3, 1897, he was not yet sixty years of age. He was born at the old community of Bellview in Sandusky, Ohio, August 25, 1838, a son of Samuel and Eliza A. (Watts) Huffman. The Huffmans were of Pennsylvania. Dutch stock, while the Watts family was of English origin. Roth parents were born and were married in Pennsylvania, and while living there, their first child, Louisa, was born. In the spring of 1838 this small family left the Keystone State and with wagons and teams started for Ohio. They reached Toledo, and then owing to the bad condition of the roads the young mother rode the rest of the way into Sandusky County on horseback with her baby in her arms. Having arrived near Bellview, Samuel Huffman bought and improved a farm from almost the primeval wilderness. Their first home was a little log 642 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY shack which stood on the land when they took possession and his labors subsequently constructed a new log hut, but still of primitive accommodations. During the '50s he replaced these humble dwellings= witha substantial frame house which measured well up to the standards of comforts and improvements of that time. It was in that home that Samuel and his wife died, he at the age of sixty-four, while his wife survived until December, 1880, at the age of seventy-one. His death resulted from blood poisoning, induced by a prick in the knee from a thorn of the osage orange. These were most excellent people, kind and considerate in all their relations, invaluable in times of need and distress in their community, and lived always in the fear of God and in the practice of the essential principles of Christianity. They were among the most active members of the Methodist Church at Bellview. The late Philip Huffman was the first son and second child in a family of seven children, and was the first to be born in Ohio. Only two of these are still living. Ezra, who is married and lives in Sandusky County, was the first passenger conductor to take a passenger train over the Nickel Plate Railway and is now retired. Another son, Samuel, Jr., is a retired resident of Youngstown, Ohio. On the old farm in Sandusky County Philip Huffman grew to manhood, and his youthful strength did something toward the clearing up and improving the lands. His education, begun in the district schools, was continued at Berea in the higher institutions of learning at that place. When a young man of about twenty-four in August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company B of the One flundred and Twenty- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Randolph and Colonel Wilson, and the regiment was part of General Milroy's Brigade. His brother Ezra was with him in the same company and together they served for a total period of three years. He escaped without wounds, but was twice taken prisoner. The first capture came at the battle of Winchester, and he remained in prison at Belle Isle in the James River until exchanged. Then while proceeding with his regiment to the battlefield at Gettysburg he was again captured, and this time became an inmate of the notorious Libby Prison, and endured its horrors for several month before exchange. He again rejoined his command, and continued in the active service until his honorable discharge following the close of the war. He participated an the Grand Review at Washington with the other victorious troops of the Union, and the service of special interest was as a member of the bodyguard around the bier of Lincoln at Washington. With his return from the army Mr. Huffman lived on the old farm in Sandusky County until 1871, was married in that year, and somewhat later, in April, 1875, moved to Erie County. Here he bought 120 acres. in Berlin Township, and that place became the scene of his industrious endeavor as a farmer until his death. Mrs. Huffman still occupies the old home, and it is a place endeared to her by the associations and memories of forty years. The late Mr. Huffman was a farmer who combined intelligence with his labors, and was well prosperous. He was likewise respected for his many amiable traits of character, was a true Christian man, and in politics a republican. At the home of the bride in Berlin Township on June 8, 1871, Philip A. Huffman married Miss Jennie Knight. To this union was born a daughter, Lucy L., on May 20, 1872. She died September 18, 1894. Her husband is George Jenkins, who owns a fine farm in Berlin Township comprising 117 acres. Mr. Jenkins after the death of his first wife married Helen Knight, and they have five children. Mrs. Huffman was born in Berlin Township November 23, 1849, and grew up and was educated near her old home. Since the death of HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 643 Mr. Huffman eighteen years ago she has capably managed the farm and lives in comfort surrounded by a large circle of friends and relatives. Her parents were Simon and Ann (Wheaton) Knight. They were both born in Devonshire, England, her father on December 9, 1819, and her mother on March 25, 1822. Both the Knights and Wheatons were of long lived families and had long been identified with the country of Southwestern England. Before the Knight family left England, one child, Richard, was born to them. In April, 1849, they embarked on a sailing vessel and spent five weeks in crossing the ocean to the New World. They landed in Quebec, Canada, and thence came up the waters of the river and Great Lakes to Sandusky, Ohio. The year 1849 is well remembered as the time of the great cholera epidemic. From Sandusky they came on to Huron and from there to Berlin Township, where -Mr. Knight rented land and subsequently purchased a place of his myn. He had many of the qualities which have long distinguished the thrifty Devon men, and in Erie County became one of the successful and influential citizens, and at the time of his death owned 425 acres, most of which was in a high state of improvement. He died in April, 1891, and his wife passed away August 16, 1887. She took a prominent interest in the Methodist Church and was a daughter of Rev. Richard Wheaton, a rigorous exponent of Methodist doctrine in the old country who also came' to Erie County and died here at the age of sixty-five. The Knight family belonged to the Episcopal Church. The late Mr. Knight was a republican and had a considerable part in local affairs. Mrs. Huffman was the second of three children. Her brother Richard Nash was born in England June 5, 1845, was reared in Erie County, now lives on a farm of sixty acres in Berlin Township and by his marriage to Mary Egleson has three children. Mrs. Huffman's sister Lucy, born July 19, 1852, was reared and educated in Erie County and died at her home in Berlin Township in January, 1881, when not yet twenty- nine years of age. She married Frank A. Barrows, who was born in Avon, Lorain County, Ohio, November 30, 1847, and though educated for the law at Oberlin College did not practice, but instead became a farmer after his marriage, and is now one of the leading stock raisers in Erie County and has a fine place of 147 acres. To Mr. and Mrs. Barrows were born two children. Eugenia died after her marriage to Henry Hoffman and left two children, Frank and Lester, Mr. Hoffman being still a farmer in Berlin Township. Samuel now lives on the farm with his father and is unmarried. Frank A. Barrows has been quite a factor in local politics, and for two terms, from 1880 to 1884, served as justice of the peace. The first twenty-five years of his life were spent in Lorain County, and having an excellent educational equipment he spent twelve years as a. teacher in his native county and in Erie County. He has been successful much above the average as a farmer, and by capable management has what is properly regarded as one of the best improved places in Berlin Township. ADAM E. WIKEL. Though a native of this section of Ohio, Mr. Wikel spent many years of his active manhood as a pioneer farmer in Nebraska, and from that state returned to Erie County some fifteen years ago. Mr. Wikel now has some excellent country property in Berlin Township, owns a fine home which is situated along rural route No. 2 out of Huron, but is mainly retired from his business which gave him his prosperity and enabled him to take a substantial position in any community where he has lived. He is a representative of substantial German stock, a son of Charles and Helen (Root) Wikel. His father was born in 1825 in Rhenish, Bavaria, Germany, where the name was spelled Weichel. When sixteen 644 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY years of age he came to the United States, arriving after a tedious voyage on a sailing vessel at New York City, and thence proceeded across the country to Erie. County, Ohio. He grew to manhood at Weaver's Corner, near Bellevue in Huron Township, where his uncle, Adam Wikel, Shad settled some years previously. After his marriage to Miss Root Charles Wikel became a farmer and lived part of the time in Huron County and part of the time in Milan Township of Erie County. He died December 16, 1890. He was a member of the German Lutheran Church and a democrat in politics. His widow passed away November 24, 1901, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Peter Kriss at Iluron. She was born in 1825 and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Charles Wikel for many years followed the business of auctioneer, and that was a pursuit which brought him into touch with people over a wide area and made him well-known. Adam E. Wikel was the second son and child in a family of six sons and two daughters. Of these, Henry died at the age of thirteen, Marion died at twenty, and John died in Erie County at his farm in Milan Township, March 30, 1914, .leaving a family of children. Besides Adam those now living are : Peter, who lives with his family at Floyd, New Mexico ; Mary, widow of Peter Kriss, at Huron, and the mother of two daughters ; Helen, wife of Louis Cool, a farmer in Huron Township, and the mother of six children ; and Albert, who is a coal dealer at Huron and has one child living and one died in infancy. In Oxford Township of Huron County Adam E. Wikel was born February 15, 1850. His early life was spent on a farm, and he came to manhood with a liberal education, having finished at the _normal school in Milan. After he went out to the Nebraska frontier he taught school one term. His arrival in the new and sparsely settled country of Nebraska was on April 1, 1871. He lived chiefly in Saunders County of that state and entered and improved three-quarter sections of land :it different times. He had 160 acres comprising a timber culture claim i n Holt County, and he recently sold that for $5,000, and still owns eighty acres partly improved in the same county. About fifteen years ago Mr. Wikel returned to Ohio, and spent four years at the Village of Huron. For five years he was in St. Louis, Missouri, and during that time spent eighteen months as manager of a concrete factory and was also a tea merchant. In 1909 having returned to Erie County he bought his present home on section 4 near Ceylon in Berlin Township. His life has been one of industry accompanied with good business judgment, and he is now able to live retired and enjoy the fruits that have resulted from his well directed endeavors. While living in Saunders County, Nebraska, in 1872, Mr. Wikel married Miss Martha E. Criss. She was born in Owen County, Indiana. May 2, 1851, and grew up and was educated there. At the age of nineteen she accompanied her parents, Jonathan and Mary (Grimes) Criss. who were natives of, and were married in, Ohio, on their journey with teams and wagons as part of a colony of five families, across the country to the wild and untamed prairies of Nebraska. They arrived in that state in the fall of 1871, and Mr. Criss took up a homestead in Chester Township, of Saunders County. At that time there was not a tree nor house in sight, and the Criss home was eighteen miles from the nearest postoffice. Mrs. Wikel has many interesting recollectons of her early life in that state. She recalls the sod schoolhouses and churches, and in a country where lumber was practically unobtainable, many of the inhabitants lived either in dugouts or in box or sod houses. Among other unpleasant features was the presence of numerous rattle snakes. In the course of time Mr. Criss and his wife improved a good home, and he died at Wahoo, Nebraska, at the age of sixty-eight and his wife at the HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 645 age of sixty-five. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. and Mrs. Wikel have the satisfaction of having reared children and seeng them already well established in positions of usefulness and honor. Charles, the oldest son, who is a farmer in Berlin Township, married Ellen Scott, and they have a daughter named Violet. Helen, now deceascd, married Rev. Henry St. Louis, formerly a pastor of "the Methodist Episcopal Church in Nebraska and still engaged in the ministry in Missouri, and by that union there were three children, Hazel, Lois and Elno. Burton, who is a farmer in Berlin Township, married Della McKnight, who by a former marriage has two- Children, Warren and John McKnight. Maude is the wife of Charles W. Cordes; who lives in Chicago but is a railway mail clerk with a run over the Rock Island road from Chicago to West Liberty, Iowa. The daughter Grace died at the age of twelve years. Ona, who was graduated from the high school at St. Louis in 1909, has spent five years as a successful teacher in Berlin and Milan townships. Mr. and Mrs. Wikel are members of the Methodist Church, which faith has also been embraced by their children, and he has for nineteen years given service to the church in the capacity of trustee and other offices. In politics he upholds the principles of the prohibition party. JACOB OTTO. For more than forty-five years Jacob Otto has lived in Erie County. He came to America a young German youth, with no special knowledge of the language or the institutions of the New World, and without capital and influential friends. He gained a foothold as a result of steady industry, married and established a home as a farm renter, and now for many years has owned a very attractive and profitable farmstead along the Lake Erie shore in Berlin Township. His postoffice is Huron, and his residence is in Berlin Township. Jacob Otto was born in Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, February 22, 1850, and. is of solid German stock. His parents were Christopher and Elizabeth (Peck) Otto, natives of the same town and province. They and their parents lived and died at Hesse Darmstadt, and the different generations have fhrnished farmers as a rule, and there have been large families. Mr. Otto is of a class of people naturally long lived, and among his ancestors only his Grandfather Peck passed away in comparatively early life. The family religion has been that of the Reformed Church. Jacob Otto was the third in a family of eleven children. Two of his brothers are still living in Germany, and have families. Jacob was one of the two children who came to the United States. His sister, Elizabeth, was married in Germany to Peter Switzer, and subsequently came to the United States locating in Sandusky, where both have since died. She died in August, 1912, leaving four living children. Jacob Otto grew up in his native land as a German farmer boy and had a. common school education. At the age of nineteen, in 1869, he left Bremen on the ship America, and after two weeks landed in New York City. He proceeded at once to Erie County, Ohio, to the Village of Vermilion, and has lived in the county ever since with the exception of two years in Lorain County. For about fifteen years he was a renter in Berlin Township, and in 1894 made his first purchase of land along the lake shore. This land borders the lake shore for eighty rods. It comprises 109 acres, though a part of it is taken for the street car right of way, the public highway, and the land is all well drained and highly fertile and valuable. Mr. Otto has placed three sets of building improvements, and two of these are occupied by his sons. His own home is a large and substantial residence surrounded with good barns and other buildings. His farm has been notable for its fruit production. At one time he had a crop of 1,400 bushels 646 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY of peaches, and has also given much attention to small fruit and grapes. He is a practical, hard-headed business man, and has lived a life of earnest purpose and useful activity. Mr. Otto was married in America, but his wife was the sweetheart of his early years back in Germany. Her name was Elizabeth C. Ries, who was born on a farm near that on which her husband grew up. The date of her birth was February 10, 1845, and she grew up in her native town. Her parents were Henry and Elizabeth (Jager) Ries. Her father was a carpenter, and both parents were natives of Hesse-Nassau, and in 1876 came to the United States.) Both lived in Berlin Township of Erie County. Her father was eighty-one and her mother eighty-three when death came to them. They were members of the Reformed Church, and her father was a democrat. Mrs. Otto had one brother, Henry Ries, who came to the United States, married, and left a large family of six sons and three daughters. Henry Ries was a first-class carpenter, and was accidentally killed on the Nickel Plate Railway when in the prime of life. Mr. and Mrs. Otto may take due pride in their fine family of children, whom they have reared and given substantial help in, becoming independent. Anna, the first child, died at the entrance to a promising young womanhood. Mary is the wife of John Huff, a farmer in Berlin Township, and their two sons are Philip and John. Catherine E. is the wife of John Reiber, a farmer in Vermilion Township, and their children are named Catherine, George and Edna E. Amelia C. married Fred Ackermann, a farmer in Berlin Township, and their little house-hold of five children comprise Edward, Caroline, Catherine, Martin and Ruth. Henry is an employee in the car works at Milan in Erie County, and by his marriage to Pearl Jenkins has two children, William and Viola. Christina is the wife of Louis Ackermann, a farmer in Berlin Township. Jacob H. is on part of his father's farm, married Carrie Stryker and has three children, Mary, Edward and Charles. George William lives on a fine home that is a part of his father's estate located at the little place known as Ceylon Junction; he married Anna Wall of Vermilion, and they have a daughter, Wallena. Mr. and Mrs. Otto and family are members of the Reformed Church, and the father and sons are all democrats in politics. PHILIP KNEISEL. Probably none of the first class rural homesteads of Berlin Township represent a more successful co-operation between the industry of the husband and the thrift and economy of the wife than the Kneisel farm, situated along rural route No. 2 out of Huron. Mr. Kneisel possesses the solid hard working ability characteristic of his German ancestry, but he credits his success in buying and paying for a fine property largely to the influence and assistance of his good wife, who has not only looked well after the ways of her household but has proved herself the master of many important details of farm and business management. The Kneisel farm comprimes 105 1/2 acres of fine land, all well improved. Their home is a comfortable six-room house, and, a recent addition to the group of improvements is the new barn, on a foundation 36x52 feet. The old barn is a structure 28x40 feet. Mr. Kneisel as a crop grower has succeeded in producing all the staples of Erie County, and also keeps excellent grades of live stock.. They bought this farm in 1903. Mr. Kneisel has lived in Erie County nearly all his active life, and has always been identified with farming in some capacity or other. He was born in Germany, February 23, 1865, a son of Martin and Elizabeth (Apple) Kneisel, both of whom were born, reared and married in the old country. Martin Kneisel by a former marriage had four children, HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 647 John C., Conrad, Anna and George, all of whom are now married and living in the United States. By the second marriage Martha and Philip Kneisel were both born in Germany, and in April, 1865, the family came from Bremen to New York City, and thence proceeded westward to Erie County, and in the same spring the father bought eighty-five acres in Brownhelm Township in Lorain County. He lived there engaged in the work of improvement and cultivation until his death, May II, 1893. His widow passed away July 10, 1908. He was a deffiocrat and they had membership in the Reformed Church. All their children, three daughters and two sons, are now married and well established in homes of their own. It was only a few days after the birth of Philip Kneisel that the family set out for America, and all his associations and memories' are with this country. He spent his early years on his father's farm, attended the public schools, and lived at home until twenty-four. For two years he had rented the homestead, and thus got his start in life. In Berlin Township, on March 5, 1889, he married Elizabeth Knott, who was born in Vermilion Township, January 13, 1868, and was educated in the local schools there. As is true in the careers of many men, marriage was the event which started Mr. Kneisel on the steady road 4nd climb to prosperity. He and his good wife have worked hard and now have the satisfaction of possessing a good farm home and having an ample supply of this world's goods to satisfy their own needs and to provide for their children. Mrs. Kneisel is a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Shildt) Knott, who were born in Hesse, Germany, the former September 8, 1839, and the latter September 10, 1835. Before they left their native land one child, Catherine, was born. In 1867 they came by way of Bremen and New York City to Vermilion Township in Erie County, and subsequently settled in Berlin Township, where Mr. Knott rented a farm until about 1876, when he bought eighty-two acres situated on rural route No. 2. He has since lived there, and still enjoys good health and he and his wife are members of the Reformed Church. Of the_children born in this county besides Mrs. Kneisel there are John, Anna, George, Philip, now deceased, and Henry, John and Henry being still unmarried. Mr. and Mrs. Kneisel have three children. Albert H., born September 5, 1891, spent two years in high school, and is now a practical farmer living with his father. Karl E., born May 29, 1896, also has his home with his parents, but for several years has worked as an employee of the Street Railway Company and factories. Elma E., born February 2, 1899, is now a student in the high school at Berlin Heights. The family are all members of the Reformed Church, and Mr. Kneisel is a democrat and affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees at Vermilion. GEORGE L. NEIDING. Among the farms of Berlin Township which are primarily devoted to fruit production that occupied by Mr. and Mrs. George L. Neiding deserves special mention. Both Mr. and Mrs. Neiding are young, intelligent people, who well represent the staple industry of farming and fruit growing in Erie County, and they now possess and enjoy a fine home overlooking the lake shore. Mr. Neiding is of substantial German ancestry. His grandparents were born in Germany and after coming to America and their marriage located in Brownhelm, Lorain County, Ohio, where they followed farming and spent the rest of their lives. They improved a tract of land, and were quiet, thrifty and hard working people, and in religion were Protestant. Of their children who grew up and married there were Jacob, Gus, Henry, John, Elizabeth, Martha and Charles, of whom Jacob, Gus and Henry are now deceased. 648 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY Henry Neiding was born in Brownhe1m, Lorain County, April 7, 1846, and died May 2, 1910. He grew up on his father's farm, and subsequently removed to Eric County. He was married in his native county to Emma Stephen. George L. Neiding is the only living child of this union, having lost a young brother named Edwin. He was born on the old farm in Erie County, November 29, 1880, and was well educated and well trained for the work which he now follows with such success. He has always lived on the farm, which was willed to him by his father, who had owned the place many years. Among its improvements is a substantial seven-room house, painted white with green trimmings, and adjoining that is a three- room packing house and a barn 30x45 feet. As fruit growers both the father and son have been successful in this community for many years. The orchards comprise about three acres, beautifully situated on the banks of the lake, and the ground is all well drained and especially adapted for the growing of peaches and other fruit. Mr. Neiding also raises large quantities of fine vegetables and several varieties of small grain. George L. Neiding was married in Elliston, Ottawa County, Ohio, to Augusta L. Opfer, who was born in that county, January 4, 1884, and was reared there, and educated in the public schools. Her parents were Conrad and Anastasia (Krither) Opfer, natives of Germany. Her father was born in Hesse and her mother in Pomerania. They came to America on sailing vessels when still single, and spent a number of weeks of tedious voyage. They finally reached Ottawa County, Ohio, where they met and married, and took up life as farmers near the Village of Martin, where they now own as a result of their thrifty enterprise and industry a good farm of forty acres. Mrs. Neiding's father was born April 14, 1846, and her mother September 23, 1857. Both are members of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Neiding was the second child of a large family, and has been self supporting since she was eleven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Neiding have one son, Lester C., who is nine years of age and attending school. Mr. Neiding is a member of the Maccabees and in politics a democrat. JOHN HOFFMAN. In the farming district of Berlin Township there are many prosperous and progressive men who believe that the happiest life as well as the most independent one is to be lived on the farm. Prominent among these is John Hoffman, with whose beautiful home all the residents of that section are acquainted, located on Rural Route No. 2 out of Huron. Mr. Hoffman is a native of Berlin Township, has spent practically all the years of his life in the community where he was born, and is known as an excellpt farmer and a man who can be depended upon in matters of local moment. Born on his father's farm in Berlin Township, November 1, 1862, John Hoffman is a son of John Hoffman, Sr., who was born in HessenDarthstadt, Germany, October 8, 1829. When the senior John Hoiffman died about ten years ago he left a noteworthy vacancy in the ranks of good citizenship and worthy manhood. He came of an old German family, and his parents, who were farmers and members of the Lutheran Church, died when John and his sister Mary were still children. Christina Hoffman also came to the United States, and was married at Norwalk, Ohio, to John Ernest. She died in Norwalk, leaving the following children : William, John, George, Adam and Christina, all of whom except John are still living, John having died as a result of burns received in a gas explosion and left a wife but no children. After the death of Christina Ernest, John Ernest married a second time and has children by that wife. HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 649 John Hoffman, Sr., spent the formative years of childhood and youth in Germany among strangers. When nineteen years old he set out for the New World, taking passage on a sailing vessel at Bremen, and sixty-four days later landing in New York City. During the passage he helped the cook in the galley, and the lessons thus learned were never forgotten in after life. Arriving in this country poor and friendless, his first employment was in a butcher shop, and on going to Buffalo he worked a few years in a brickyard, and while living there was a member of the voltinteer fire department of the city. About 1855 he came on west to Norwalk, Ohio, and a little later located at Shinrock in Berlin Township. There he was fortunate in finding an employer in Daniel N. Hines. His salary was only $8 per month, though that was not an unusual wage according to the standards of the time. When the field work was finished he spent the winters in cutting cordwood at 15 cents per cord. Thus he spent some four or five years, and in the meantime had given many evidences of his reliable qualities and good workmanship, and these qualifications resulted in his being placed in charge of the Hines farm. He continued to work that farm for a number of years, slowly getting ahead and pre paring for an independent start in life. In 1871 he bought sixty acres near the Hines home, twenty acres of which were improved. While still continuing the management of the Hines farm he made such improve, merits as he could on his own land, building a small residence, and about 1872 or 1873 moved to the new place with his little family, then comprising five sons and two daughters, all of whom had been born in a log house near the Hines Estate. With the stimulus that comes to a man Who is his own master and proprietor of a small farm, John Hoffman filled the succeeding years with gratifying accomplishment, improved his land, drained the lowest places and continued to prosper. In the meantime he not only developed his first farm but acquired two others, and altogether was the proprietor of over 300 acres. The death of John Hoffman, Sr., occurred October 12, 1905. Of his material achievement nothing more need be said. But he also exemplified many fine, qualities of manhood and citizenship which were valuable to his fellow men. It is said that those who knew him best were those who praised him most. " He died in the faith of the Lutheran Church and throughout his career as an American citizen was a strong republican. He served several terms as township trustee. John Hoffman, Sr., was married in Berlin Township in 1856 to Christina Clinger. She was born in Wuertemburg, Germany, April 7, 1838, and is still living, active in mind and body for one who bears the weight of more than three-quarters of a century. When she was a child she was brought to the United States and to Norwalk in Huron County by her parents, Anson and Ann Olinger, who came across the ocean on a sailing vessel which was wrecked and the passengers were marooned on an island until finally picked up and carried on to New York. From Norwalk the Clingers subsequently moved to a small farm in Berlin Township, where Mr. Clinger died at the age of sixty-six. His widow subsequently lived with her daughter Louisa Ritz in Norwalk, and died there when past the -age of fourscore. She and her husband were, members of the Lutheran Church, and were strong and vigorous people, well fitted for the duties of home making and child rearing. Of the nine children born to Mrs. Christina Hoffman five are still living. John Hoffman, Jr., who is the oldest son in the family, grew up on his father's farm, and from the age of ten years exercised his youthful strength in swinging an ax, in guiding a plow and in all the other departments of work required for the clearing up and cultivation of a farm. His education was that supplied by the common schools, but he came to manhood well fitted for the responsibilities which he has since assumed. vol. II-12 650 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY Mr. Hoffman has sixty-six acres in his homestead, and has one of the most attractive residences in the township. It Contains eleven rooms, is modern in all its appointments and has co4veniences which many more pretentious city homes lack. His group of buildings stand in the shelter of a grove of fruit and shade trees, and he has used one tone of coror for the painting of both his home and his barns and sheds. He has a large barn 36x60 feet with a lean-to shed 36x20 feet, and has several cribs and a granary. Nearly all these buildings are new. Under his management his fields have produced all kinds of grain and he has also raised potatoes with considerable profit. He keeps high grade stock, and has, a good herd of sheep. Mr. Hoffman was married in Huron Township to Miss Louisa. Gockstetter, who was born in Huron Township, September 14, 1866, a daughter of Godfrey and Dora (Hintz) Gockstetter. Her parents were natives of Germany, came to this country in a sailing vessel, located with their respective families in Erie County, and were married in Huron Township, where they spent the rest of their years. They died When not yet seventy years of age, and were members of the Lutheran Church. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were born two children John, who was born June 16, 1890, was educated in the common and high schools, grew .up on the farm, is still unmarried and living at home, and is serving as manager of the Berlin Heights Fuel Company's elevator at Ceylon. Addison G., the second son, was born July 10, 1892, graduated from the Huron High School in 1911, taught one year in Vermilion Township and one year in Berlin Township, and is now proving a valuable assistant to his father in the management of the farm. Mr. Hoffman and his sons are republicans. JOHN RITZ. To no one class does Erie County owe more of its wealth and strength of prosperity than to the agriculturist. While Erie County as a whole has a well diversified development, many industries and productive resources, it is the farms taken in the aggregate which furnish the great bulk of material for the well being of its inhabitants. One of the present generation of progressive farmers is John Ritz, whose home is in the western part of Berlin Township, with mail facilities supplied by Rural Route No. 1 out of Milan. With the exception of six years spent in the State of Michigan, Mr. Ritz has lived in Berlin Township practically all his life. He was born on his father's farm here July 26, 1861, and acquired his education by attending the local schools. After his return from Michigan, where he was married, he bought the fifty acres contained in his present place on the Wikel Township line road, and his energy and enterprise have since made this one of the most productive and profitable farms of its size in the entire township. His home has many attractive features. The residence is a frame building of eight rooms and surrounding it are substantial farm houses, including a barn 30x56 feet, and a number of other outbuildings. The barns and other outbuildings are well painted, and the house is a stone green. Mr. Ritz pursues diversified farming, raises some fine sheep, cattle, horses and hogs, makes a crop of two or three acres of potatoes every year, has an apple orchard covering about one acre, and gives his best energies to every department of his farm. Mr. Ritz is the third John in as many successive generations. His father and grandfather, both named John Ritz, were natives of Germany. His father was born April 27, 1836, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, a son of John and Elizabeth (Feik) Ritz, who were natives of the same province. On July 4, 1855, the family left Germany and embarked on a sailing vessel at Hamburg, which sixty days later landed them in New York City. From there they came on to Norwalk, Ohio, where HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 651 Henry Ritz, a brother of the grandfather, had located a number of years before. The family at that time comprised only John and his wife Elizabeth and their son John. The grandfather located in Berlin Township on the Jeffrey Road, where his first holding comprised only twenty- five acres, but with the assistance of his son John he 1n time developed a good estate of eighty-five acres. In 1887 the grandfather returned to the old country intending to live there permanently, but in a short time became dissatisfied and in the spring of 1888 camel back to America on an emigrant boat where the conditions were such that the passengers. were treated more like a cargo of pigs than human beings. He was at that time an old man, and suffered severely from the ill treatment received on the voyage, and soon after returning to Erie County died at the home of his brother, Henry, at Norwalk on May 11, 1888, about one week after his return. He was born April 21, 1811. His wife, Elizabeth, who was born in July, 1810, had died at the old homestead in Berlin Township, August 29, 1885. Both were members of the. Lutheran Church and had all the valuable characteristics of the German people. John Ritz, second of the name, was about nineteen years old when the family came to Ohio and was married in Norwalk to Joan Wilhelmina Voss, who was born in Bremen, Germany, May 28, 1837. Her parents spent all their lives in the old country and she was the only one of their children who came to America, having come alone a young woman. On arriving at Norwalk she found employment in the home of John Gardner until her marriage. She and her husband still occupy the old farm in Berlin Township on the Jeffrey Road. They are members of the Lutheran. Church and in politics he is a republican. John Ritz of this sketch, as already noted, spent about six years in the State of Michigan. He was married in Dover Township of Lenawee County in that state in 1887 to Miss Cora E. Griffin. Mrs. Ritz is a native of Berlin Township, Erie County, where she was born November 26, 1866, and acquired her education partly in her home county and partly in Michigan. Her parents were Adolphus and Martha (Hoyt) Griffin. Her father was born in Newkirk, New York, May 30, 1825, and died January 4, 1892. Her mother was born February 5, 1825, in Connecticut, and died October 4, 1892. They came to Ohio before their marriage, which was celebrated in Erie County, January 8, 1850, and as young people they began life on a farm in Berlin. Township. In 1882 they removed to Dover Township in Lenawee County, Michigan. Mr.. Griffin was a democrat and his wife was a member of the Baptist Church at Berlin Heights. Hr. Griffin while a farmer was also noted for his skill as a hunter and fisherman, and he and Henry Hine of Erie County were close friends and were frequently together on their fishing trips. Mrs. Ritz has one brother, Morton D. Griffin, a farmer at Clayton, Michigan, and has two children, Martha and Burdette Griffin, both of whom are married. While Mr. and Mrs. Ritz have been prospered in material circumstances they have also gained honor to themselves through their fine family of children. Their oldest is Edith M., who finished her education in the Berlin Heights High School, and is now the wife of Grant Squire, living in the State of Nevada ; they have no living children. Fred J., the oldest son, is a Berlin Township farmer and is still unmarried. Catherine I., who graduated from the high school at Berlin Heights in 1909 and in 1911 finished a course in the Oberlin Business College, spent three years in clerical work at the Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland, and is now the wife of a well known young Cleveland attorney, Arthur H. Hill, a son of Rev. George Hill. Minnie L., after her education married Clyde D. Cook, who is connected with the Overland Motor Car Company at Elyria, Ohio, and they have a daughter, Lucile G. Charles Verne, who 652 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY is twenty-one years Of age in August, 1915, received his education in the public schools and is still at home. Jay died when nine months old. Earl is still at home, aged seventeen, and educated in-the grade schools. Alice E., a fine young woman of thirteen, is still attending the local schools. Mrs. Ritz is a member of the Friends Church. Mr: Ritz in politics is a republican and takes much interest in local affairs, HENRY JEFFERY. Erie County lost one of its oldest and most capable . agriculturists in the death of Henry Jeffery, which occurred at his beautiful farm home in the northwest corner of Berlin Township March 2, 1913. Mr. Jeffery at the time of his death was in his eightieth year. He had lived in Erie County since boyhood and while all those who remember him speak with respect of his character he has an enduring testimonial to his practical ability in the beautiful estate now occupied by his widow, Mrs. Jeffery, who is likewise of the fine old stock of Erie County early settlers. The Jeffery family has been numerously represented in Northern Ohio and came originally from Cornwall, England. Henry Jeffery was born at Lincoln Horn in Southwestern England November 18, 1827. His grandfather, George Jeffery, lived and died in Cornwall, was a prosperous farmer and the family for generations had been Episcopalians. George Jeffery had the following children George, Jr., Thomas, William, John and Betsey Ann, all of whom grew up and married. George, Jr., was born in Cornwall about 1796, grew up there and as the oldest son inherited the large estate of his father. He married Elizabeth Garland, who was also born at Lincoln Horn in Cornwall and about the same time as her husband. After their marriage they located on the large farm comprising about 300 acres which he had inherited, and before they left there all their children but one were born. These children were : George, Richard, Mary, William, Elizabeth, John, Thomas, Samuel, who is the only one now living, and a resident ofErie County, Elizabeth Ann and Henry. In 1841 George Jeffery and his son William set out for the United States, taking six weeks to make the voyage by sailing ship to New York, and remained in that city until they were joined by the wife and other children, who came over ori the ship Gladiator, and the family were united in New York City on Christmas Eve. They left New York in the spring of 1842, and by way of the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and Lake Erie finally arrived in Huron, Ohio. From that village they drove three miles east and south to the 150 acres which George Jeffery bought and which is now known as the Joseph Smith farm. Some years later George Jeffery sold that land and located on a farm west of Huron. In 1852 he came into Berlin Township, and bought the farm now owned by his sons Samuel and Henry, and also other lands, one tract of fifty acres, making 100 acres all told. On this last named land George Jeffery and his wife spent the rest of their years. They were both confirmed in the Episcopal Church at Lincoln Horn, England, and practiced its faith all their lives. Henry Jeffery was about seven years of age when the family left the old home in Cornwall, and after the experiences noted finally arrived in Erie County. Here he grew to manhood and started life with a fair amount of schooling and with an excellent inheritance of the industrious and honest qualities for which the family have always been noted. Farming was his vocation, and in 1863, after his father's death, he secured fifty acres of the old homestead. To this he added thirty acres in Huron Township, and in time he had both tracts well improved. The old home is one of the most beautiful pieces of land to be found in .Erie County, well drained, and with a degree of productivity which has been undiminished by nearly seventy years of continuous cultivation. The home in PICTURE OF HENRY JEFFERY HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 653 which Henry Jeffery died is a large two-story white house, containing eight large rooms, and built in modern style, though it has been standing for thirty-six years. Until he was able to provide that generous home for his family, Henry Jeffery had lived for a number of years in a log cabin which formerly stood on the farm. Of his practical achievements as a farmer nothino.b more can be said, and it was the general expression of the community when he died that the township lost not only an excellent business man but a good citizen and one of the Most upright characters known in that locality. He was a republican in politics and had always been faithful to his training in the Episcopal Church. Henry Jeffery was first married to Ellen Sayles, who was born and reared in Milan Township, and she died in the prime of life without children. His second wife was Belle Arnold, who died seven years after her marriage, also without children. In 1908 Mr. Henry Jeffery was married in Erie County to Charlotte (Hinde) Foster. She was born in Huron Township June 12, 1857, and was liberally educated, and is one of the highly cultured women of Berlin Township. She attended a convent school, later the high school at Sandusky, and for eighteen months was a teacher. Her parents were Edwin and Theodosia (Shepherd) Hinde. Her father was a native of Ireland and her mother of England. Edwin Hinde was of the fine old Irish gentry, was reared as a gentleman, and after coming to America became a large land owner in Huron Township, where he died when. quite old. He was a member of the Catholic Church and a democrat in politics. Theodosia Shepherd's father was prominent in England as a hop raiser, and she was about seven years of age when her parents moved to the United States, and located in Huron Township of Erie County, where her parents spent the rest of their careers as farmers. Theodosia Shepherd after her marriage to Mr. Hinde became a convert in the Catholic faith and died in that church. Following her experience as a teacher Mrs. Jeffery was married in 1874 to her first husband, Ephraim Foster. They located at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, where Mr. Foster was for fourteen years a grape grower. They then removed to Sandusky, and Mr. and Mrs. Foster subsequently became estranged and separated. Mrs. Jeffery has three children by her first marriage. Harry E. Foster, born August 9, 1875, grew up and was educated at Sandusky and at Port Clinton, took up the trade of millwright, and was employed in that capacity by a large firm of paper manufacturers who have their main plant at Munsey, Indiana, and a branch plant at Sandusky until 1915, when he came to Berlin Township. He married Amelia Seaman of Port Clinton, Ohio, and their five children are named Georgiana, Douglas, Charlotte, Blanche and Dorothy, all in school. Wilfred W. Foster, born September 17, 1877, was educated in the same schools as his brother, and took up the telephone business, in which he is now engaged, with headquarters at Butte, Montana, and is still unmarried. Leota Foster, born October 14, 1882, is the wife of Jay Ruemmele of Sandusky, and their children, Victor, Wilfred, Earl And Kenneth, are all attending the Sandusky schools. Mrs. Jeffery was reared in the faith of the Catholic Church and is an active member of that denomination. Since her husband's death she has shown her independent enterprise and is a practical farmer and stock raiser, and is capably managing the fine estate which was left her by the late Henry Jeffery. CHARLES A. HUTTENLOCHER. German persistence, thrift and industry, qualities which came over with him from the old country, have enabled Charles A. Huttenlocher to accomplish more than the average man who started life with only,a pair of willing hands and a heart courageous for any fate. He now has a valuable farm estate in Berlin 654 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY Township, with postoffice at Shinrock, and with that farm as the bulk of his capital has a prosperous and contented outlook for the future and he and his little family are valuable people in the community. His birthplace was the rugged and beautiful Kingdom of Wuertemberg, and he was born in the Village of Obendorff August 26, 1858. His parents were John and Mary (Martin) Huttenlocher, natives of the same province, his father born in 1825 and his mother December 14, 1822. They both died at Tiffin, Ohio, the former September 10, 1875, -and the latter December 14, 1874. The preceding generation of both the Huttenlocher and Martin families had lived and died in Germany. The Huttenlochers were wine growers in a district noted for its vineyards, while her father, Mr. Martin, was engaged in the coloring of cloth'in cloth mills. While the Huttenlochers were Lutherans, the Martins were Cath: olics. John Huttenlocher grew up and was trained in the vineyards of his home locality and was married in his home distrist in 1852. All their children, four in number, were born in the old country. Mary is now the wife of Jacob Deitz, who is now a dry goods box maker in New York City and they have two sons and a daughter. The next in age is Charles A. Minnie, the second daughter, was married in Ohio to Fred J. Eisler, who is now living with his family in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, and was a harness maker by trade but is now employed in the glas works ; they have two sons and two daughters. Paul, the only other son, lives on the Isle of Pines in the West Indies, and is a carpenter contractor and unmarried. It was in the year 1872 that the Huttenlocher family left Germany on the ocean liner Ansonia from Hamburg and arrived in New York City two weeks later. From there they came on to Sandusky and a year later to Tiffin, Ohio, where the father and sons became market gardeners. At that occupation the father died, and the children then took up life individually and on their own accounts. Charles A. Huttenlocher was fourteen years old when the family came to America, and in less than three years later was deprived of the care of both mother and father. He had to content himself with meager advantages in the way of schooling, and a year after his father's death found employment at Sandusky. After two years or more he married and then moved out to Berlin Township and bought sixty-six acres from William Henry Hine at Shinrock. Upon this land he has since bestowed his vigorous efforts through a period of more than thirty years and has developed an excellent farm. He grows all kinds of grain and potatoes and practically every foot of the land except one acre is under cultivation. He lives in a nice white eight-room house with good substantial farm buildings, including a barn 50x50 feet. The secret of his success has come from hard work and the practical handling of every issue as it arose. In 1884 in Sandusky Mr. Huttenlocher married Miss Catherine Balderf. She was born in Sandusky November 25, 1848, was reared and educated there, and throughout the thirty years of her married life has proved an effective assistant to her husband and deserves much credit for their present prosperity. Her parents were Joseph and Catherine (Forefelter) Balderf, both natives of Baden, Germany, the former born in Winegarten and the latter in Waldorf. They came to, the United States when young on one of the old-fashioned sailing vessels which required many days to cross the ocean. This was. in the early '40s, and they met and married in. Sandusky, where with the exception of two years spent at Clyde, Ohio, they lived the rest of their lives. Her father died at the age of eighty and her mother at seventy-five. For many years he followed the occupation of drayman in Sandusky. They were Lutherans and he a republican. HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 655 Mr. and Mrs. Huttenlocher have one son, Carl Albert, who was born June 24, 1886, and received his education in the local schools of Berlin Township. He is still at home and now assumes a large share of the responsibilities of the farm management. After reaching manhood he married Edith Ferber of Berlin Township. She died at Shinrock seventeen months after her marriage, and only a few days after the death of her first and only child. Mr. and Mrs. Huttenlocher and son are all members of the Evangelical Church at Huron, in which Mr. Huttenlocher has been a trustee for a number of years. He and his son are republicans in national politics, and the latter is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World at Shinrock. RICHARD W. KNIGHT. The most satisfying rewards of rural experience have compensated the untiring labors and well directed efforts of Richard W. Knight, who is one of Erie County's progressive and enterprising farmers, and the owner of a valuable estate in Berlin Township. His property has grown and developed under his management, and while always an extremely busy man with his private interests he has still found the time and inclination to assist in movements that would benefit the community. An Englishman by birth, Richard W. Knight was born in Edgerly, Devonshire, June 29, 1846. His ancestors lived in the same community of Devonshire from which came the famous Boone family to which Daniel Boone belonged. Mr. Knight was still an infant when his parents emigrated to America and located in Huron and a little later in Berlin Township of Erie County. Here he grew up and received his education in the local schools and has thus lived nearly all his life in this prosperous rural community. His parents were Simon and Ann (Wheaton) Knight. The paternal grandparents were John and Jane (Alvord) Knight, both natives of Devonshire, where they spent all their lives and were past eighty when they died. The grandfather worked at farming and they were Episcopalians. The maternal grandparents were Rev. James and Jane (Wicks) Wheaton, also Devonshire people, where they spent their lives. Rev. James Wheaton was a Methodist minister and died at the age of sixty-four while his wife passed away at eighty-one. Richard W. Knight was only three years of age when his father came from Plymouth on a sailing vessel under the command of Capt. George Moon, and six weeks later they landed at Montreal, Canada. From Montreal they came down as far as Chippewa on one of the old strap railroads in a car drawn by horses. From there they came up the lake to Sandusky in the boat Magnet, and thence to Huron Township, where Mrs. Knight's uncle, Richard Wheaton, was then living. From Huron they moved into Berlin Township, and the father bought land, but subsequently secured another farm in Huron Township. He was an excellent farmer and a good business man, and eventually became the owner of more than 400 acres in the different townships mentioned. He died April 16, 1901, aged eighty-two years four months, at his beautiful home now owned by Michael Schats on the Berlin Heights and Huron Road. His wife had died August 17, 1888, at the age of sixty-four years and six months. All their lives they were members of the Methodist Church. In Erie County Richard W. Knight grew to manhood, and after his marriage settled on sixty acres of first class land given him by his father. This was in Berlin Township and has been the nucleus of his home and farming interests ever since. He has been successful as a grower of the staple crops of wheat, corn, oats and potatoes. On January 20, 1875, in Berlin Township he married Miss Mary E. Eggleson. She 656 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY was born in New York State January 16, 1852, and when five years o age her parents moved to Fitchville Township in Huron County, and there she grew to young womanhood and received her education. Her parents were John and Elizabeth (Cudahy) Eggleson. Her father was born in the north of Ireland of Scotch ancestry, and while living there married Jane Dailey. After two children were born to them, John and Elizabeth, they came to this country and located in New York City, where the wife died in the prime of her years, one other child, Susan, having been born in New York City. Mr. Eggleson then married Elizabeth Cudahy, who was born in Ireland but of Scotch parents. While they continued to live in New York City three children were born, and they then came to Huron County, Ohio, and here seven children were added to their household, making ten in all by the second marriage. All of these grew up and married except one, so that there were a large family of Egglesons. Mr. Eggleson was employed by Professor Morse, the inventor of the telegraph system, and worked on the first telegraph wire used by Professor Morse between Baltimore and Washington, District of Columbia. This wire was wound with cloth. Mr. and Mrs. Knight have lived in their first home nearly all their married life, and have worked and labored together to secure the comforts which they now enjoy. They have reared a family of five children. Edith is now the wife of William Ramsey, and they live in Sunny Vale, California, and are the parents of two sons and two daughters. Nellie, is the wife of George Jenkins, an Erie County citizen whose life is sketched on other pages. The son Philip died at the age of twenty, and Irvin at the age of three years. Leland, now twenty years of age, was educated in the Berlin Heights High School and by a course in the International Correspondence School, and is an active assistant to his father in the management of the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Knight are active Methodists, and he and his son are republicans. He has held several minor township offices, especially on the school board, and is affiliated with Marks Lodge No. 359, A. F. & A. M. GEORGE M. JENKINS. For one who was left to the tender mercies of the world at the early age of eleven and has since shifted for himself, George M. Jenkins is one of the most prosperous residents of Berlin Township, where he owns a large and handsome farm situated on the Huron rural route No. 2. He-and his wife are excellent people, have an interesting family of children, and without doubt they deserve all the prosperity that has come to them. Mr Jenkins is still comparatively a young man, having been born in Berlin Township, August 9, 1876. His parents were William and Melvina (Hill) Jenkins. His father was born in New York State, a son of Elisha and Elizabeth Jenkins To these grandparents were born in New York State William and Albert, and when they were still small children in the early '50s they all came to Ohio and located at Harvey's Corners in Berlin Township, where Elisha set up a smithy, and continued his trade as a blacksmith, which he had followed in New York and which was his occupation throughout his career in Erie County. Later he moved to the Village of Berlin Heights, and while living there his two sons already mentioned enlisted for service in the Union army and the father later followed them as a substitute for George Hill. They all made a record as faithful and capable soldiers, were in the army for two years or more, and though returning home with impaired health they escaped without wounds. Elisha died not long after the close of the war, being still less than three score years of age. William Jenkins, father of George M., died in 1894 when still in the prime of life. His brother Albert is still living, resides in Berlin Heights, and draws a pension for his service in HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 657 the war. After Elisha Jenkins came to Erie County the other children born to himself and wife were : George, Elisha Jr., Elizabeth and Mary, all of whom are now deceased. William Jenkins enlisted for service in the war when still little more than a boy and was still under age when he came home. He subsequently found employment as a shop worker for the Lake Shore Railroad Company, and in that vocation was engaged most of his active life. He died in Berlin Heights. His first wife, Melvina Hill, died when her only child George was eighteen months old. William Jenkins later married Sarah Ewing of Perkins Township, and she died in 1900 leaving four children. After the death of his mother George M. Jenkins went to the home of his maternal grandparents, John and Charlotta (Swartwood) Hill. He had their kind protection and care until he was eleven years old, when they both died within ten days of each other, victims of pneumonia. From that time forward George M. Jenkins made his own way in the world. He secured a somewhat limited education, and his principal resource in his early years was his inheritance of thirty acres from the estate of his grandparents located in Vermilion Township. He later sold his land, and engaged in general merchandising for five years at Ashmont, Ohio. , His next venture was the purchase of a threshing outfit and it is as a thresherman that Mr. Jenkins is perhaps most widely known to the grain raisers and general farmers of Erie County and vicinity. In 1914 he invested his surplus capital in his fine farm of 117 acres, situated in Berlin Township not far from Shinrock and Berlin Heights, and known as the Van Benschoten Farm. It is all good land, well improved, and produces excellent crops of corn, oats, wheat and potatoes and Mr. Jenkins has been particularly successful as a potato raider. He and his family reside in a large yellow house, containing twelve rooms, and with all the needed comforts and conveniences. An even more substantial evidence of his farm prosperity is the presence of two large barns, one of them nearly new, 24x54 feet, and the other 35x70 feet. Mr. Jenkins specializes in Shropshire sheep, and his flock is headed by two rams of the highest grade, and he keeps only the better grades of stock of all classes. His farm is well known over that part of Berlin Township as the Maple Grove Farm. Early in his career Mr. Jenkins was married in Berlin Township to Helen E. Knight. She was born in Huron Township, Erie County, September 17, 1878, and received her education in Berlin Township. Her parents were Richard W. and Mary E. (Eggleson) Knight. Her father was born in England in 1846 and was brought to the United States in 1849. Her mother was born in New York State in 1852 of Scotch parents. They were married in Huron County, Ohio, and subsequently moved to a farm in Berlin Township, where they are still living, and her father is now sixty-nine and her mother sixty years of age, and both are of the Methodist faith. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins were born the following children: Clifford Leroy, born November 29, 1899, now a student in the high school; Philip T., born April 15, .1902, and attending the eighth grade of the local schools ; Edna L., born May 11, 1904, and in the seventh grade ; Marion E., born June 18, 1906, and in the fourth grade ; Robert Leslie, born January 21, 1911, is in the second grade ; and Ruth, who died in infancy at the age of eight months. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are well known socially in Berlin Township and have a most hospitable and attractive home. Mr. Jenkins is affiliated with the Tent of the Maccabees at Vermilion and in politics is a republican. CHARLES H. CONKLIN. Some of the family names best known and most highly esteemed in Berlin Township require mention in considering 658 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY the life and activities of Charles H. Conklin, who bears the reputation of being a real farmer, a man who makes agriculture a successful business instead of a haphazard pursuit, and has deservedly prospered. He has the capable assistance in his home of Mrs. Conklin, who is herself a fine housekeeper, and is a woman not only of refinement but cif valid judgment. Their home is on the Wikel Road in the western part of Berlin Township. The Conklin family lived for several generations on Long Island in the State of New York. His father, John Conklin, was born at Jamestown, Lon., Island, September 21, 1846, and died at his home in Milan Township; May 2, 1880. He came to Milan Township in 1864 with his parents, David and Hannah (Sweeze) Conklin, both of whom were natives of Long Island, and became substantial farmer citizens in Milan Township. David Conklin died at the age of sixty-nine and his wife passed away at eighty-four. They were members of the Congregational Church and her father, Reverend Mr. Sweeze, was a Congregational preacher. Their children were Benjamin, Moses, Nehemiah and John, all of whom married and all are now deceased. John Conklin grew up in Milan Township, became a farmer and was actively and prosperously engaged in that bfisiness until his death. He was married in Milan Township to Emma R. Hyatt, 'who was born at Bronson in Branch County, Michigan, July 18, 1851. After their marriage they lived on David Conklin's farm for a time, until John bought a place of his own. After his death Mrs. Conklin married Fred J. Groves, a substantial farmer of Berlin Township. She is still living and -resides on her farm of ninety acres in Berlin ToWnship. By her marriage to Mr. Groves there are three children : Nelson A., who is a Milan Township farmer and by his marriage to Edna Bemis of Clyde, Ind, has a daughter, Frances E., who was born in February, 1912 ; Olive L. is the wife of Charles Doust, superintendent of schools at Versailles, Ohio, both of them being capable educator’s, graduates of the college at Wooster, Ohio, where Mr. Doust continued his studies in the University of Ohio at Columbus, and they have a son Grover E., who was born in September, 1913; and Harold H., who graduated from the Berlin Heights High School in 1915 and is living at home with his mother. Mrs. Groves is a daughter of Nelson and Klimelia (Butler) Hyatt, both of whom were born in Ohio and were married in Milan Township. Later they removed to the vicinity of Bronson in Branch County, Michigan, and for twenty years lived on a farm there where Mr. Hyatt operated a sawmill by water power. While back in Milan Township on a visit the mother of Mrs. Groves died in 1860 at the age of thirty-seven. Mr. Hyatt afterwards married a second time in Michigan and died there in 1871 when about seventy years of age. Mrs. Nelson (Butler) Hyatt was a daughter of Daniel and Jemima (Bishop) Butler, both of whom were born in Massachusetts, were married in that state and were among the very early settlers of Northern Ohio, having come out about 1812, making the entire journey by teams and wagon's to Berlin Township. They had to blaze their way through the dense woods to their chosen location on the west line of Berlin Township and there they lived in a log cabin and in the midst of bears and wolves, Indians, and all other features of the frontier environment. Mr. Butler died there at the age of seventy-six and his widow subsequently removed to Michigan and died in that state at the age of eighty-four. The Butlers were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and they gave land from the corner of their farm in Berlin Township as a site for the Methodist Church in that community. Charles H. Conklin is one of six children. His sister, Minnie, died in infancy ; Hattie is the widow of George Capen, lives in Berlin Heights and has four daughters and two sons ; Lydia is the wife of John James HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 659 Mason, a farmer and fruit grower on the State Road in Berlin Township, and they have a daughter named Ina; the next in age is Charles H.; Benjamin is a successful farmer in Milan Township and married Mabel Greenman; Sadie died in March, 1877, when very young. On the old Conklin farm in Milan Township, Charles H. Conklin was born August 16, 1875. His early life was spent much in the manner of other farmer boys, and his education came from the common schools and like many others he derived, much inspiration as well as instruction from that notable educator, Job Fish, of Berlin Heights. His duties kept him at home until April 25, 1899, at which date he bought and moved to his own farm of fifty-one acres in Berlin Township, not far from where he was born. Though not a large farm, this is one which might be taken as a model for its intensive cultivation and excellent improvements. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin reside in a new nine-room house, well and tastefully furnished and with all the arrangements and conveniences required for comfortable living. Outside stands a large barn on a foundation 30x56 feet, attached to which is a sixteen-foot shed. Mr. Conklin's crops set a high standard as to yield per acre and he grows corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes, and also has made somewhat of a specialty of growing sweet corn for seed, having about fifteen acres planted in that crop. He also keepg good grades of live stock. During the season Mr. Conklin operates a threshing outfit for the service of the grain growers over a large territory around his home. Mrs. Conklin was Miss Nora Wikel, and they were married in Milan Township. She was born in Sanders County, Nebraska, April 25, 1876, but when eight years of age her parents returned to Erie County and located in Milan Township where she grew up and received her education. Her parents were John C. and Mary H. (Scow) Wikel, her father born in Lime Township of Huron County, Ohio, May 31, 1848, a son of German parents who were early settlers in Huron County. Mr. Wikel died at his home in Milan Township, March 30, 1904. He was a democrat, and for a number of years held the office of township trustee and was a man of high character, solid attainments and enjoyed the Omnidence and esteem of a large community. He was married in Nebraska, his wife being a native of Norway. She was born August 2, 1853, and when eighteen years old accompanied her parents to the United States, settling in Nebraska, where she lived until her marriage. She is now residing on the Wikel home in Milan Township. She is a member of the. Methodist Episcopal Church, to which her husband also belonged, and of their children six are still living George, Lewis, Mrs. Conklin, Henry, Marion and Belle. To Mr. and Mrs. Conklin was born a daughter, Dorothy Bell, on February 28, 1903, and now in the seventh grade of the public schools ; and a son, John Clifford, was born May 16, 1908, and is now in the second grade. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin are members of the Friends Church in Berlin Township, and he is one of the officials in that society. Both he and his wife are identified with the Milan Grange No. 345 of the Patrons of Husbandry. In politics he is a republican. CHARLES B. DICKEL Practically every successful career is actuated by an earnest purpose and an energy of action sufficient to carry out definite plans of accomplishment. As a result of such qualities Charles B. Dickel has made himself one of the leading general farmers and stock raisers in Berlin Township. From an early age he has been self-reliant and independent, and for his success owes more to himself than to -any influence or environment. On the rural route No. 2 out of Huron is located the well improved farm of Mr. Dickel, comprising eighty-seven acres. Conspicuous among 660 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY the improvements is a comfortable seven-room white house, and near by is a large and substantial barn, 36x64 feet. As a stock farmer he gives attention to the best grades of animals, has Jersey red hogs, and a number of excellent horses and cattle. He has succeeded in growing all the staple crops of Northern Ohio, and has raised as high as 300 bushels of potatoes to the acre. Mr. Dickel bought his first farm in 1902, and the fine buildings above mentioned have been all erected since the beginning of his management. Though a native of Germany, Mr. Dickel has spent practically all his life in Erie County. He was born May 10, 1870, and when two years of age came with his parents and three sisters to the United States, landing in New York City, and thence going to Vermilion. Township. His early life was spent in Vermilion, and ''his education.. came from local schools. On reaching his majority he came into Berlin Township, and for seven years conducted the Monroe Black farm. He not only made a living and gained valuhble experience while operating this farm, but also accumulated the capital which he invested in his present place. He is a son of George and Catherine (Cook) Dickel, both of whom were born in Germany and were reared there on a farm and after their marriage set out in 1872 for America. The four children they brought with them were Mary, Eliza, Anna, and Charles B. The family first lived as renters on a farm in Vermilion Township, and the father subsequently bought a place of his own. In 1901 the mother passed away at the age of seventy-one years, nine months to "the day. Mr. Dickel has since married Catherine (Fox) Heins, and they now live on their faint in Vermilion Township, Mr. Dickel having celebrated his seventy-eighth birthday on February 25, 1915. From early youth he has worshiped in the Reformed Church, and the same religious faith as held by his wife. In politics he is a democrat In Vermilion Township Charles B. Dickel married Anna C. E. Ackermann, who was born in that township, June 8, 1868. From the age of eighteen she was for seven years a domestic in the Gus Black family, and came into a home of her own well trained by experience and with many qualities of heart and mind which have excellently fitted her for the duties of housekeeper and motherhood. Her parents were Martin and Mary (Bachmann) Ackermann, who were natives of Germany and came when young people to Erie County, where they met and married in Vermilion Township. They later moved to another -section of the same township near Ruggles Corners on the lake shore, and died there after having improved and paid for a good farm of sixty acres. Mr. Ackermann died in February, 1896, when fifty-five years of age, and his widow is still living on the old homestead and was seventy-two years old October 12, 1914. She is a member of the Gernran Reformed Church and her husband donated the land for the church building on a portion of his farm. In politics he was a democrat. Mrs. Dickel is one of six daughters and two sons, all of whom are living and of the six that are married five have children. To Mr. and Mrs. Dickel were born two children : Albert M., who was born February 19, 1895, was graduated from high school in 1914, and is now a student in the Sandusky Business College. Adaline, born June 15, 1897, was graduated from high school in 1915. Both these young people have shown the qualities which give promise of -useful and honorable careers. The daughter has musical talent, and for several years has been under the tuition of good teachers. Mrs. Dickel is a member of the Reformed Church while her husband is a democrat in politics. WILLIAM DATSON. Among the various elements of national stocks that compose the population of Erie County, there is quite a liberal HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 661 representation of people of English birth or parentage. One of these is William Datson, a capable farmer and fruit grower in Berlin Township, who is a native of England, but has lived in Ohio since before reaching his majority. Born at Gillington in County Kent, England, July 27, 1840, he is a son of William and Ann (Roper) Datson, both of whom were natives of Kent County. His parents were married there, and to their union were. born ten children, nine of whom lived to come to America. William Datson in March, 1859, accompanied by his oldest son, came to the United States on a sailing vessel which landed them six weeks later in New York. Some time later they reached Cleveland, and located at Collmer, east of that city, where the father prepared a home for his family. In November, 1859, the wife with eight children made the voyage from London to Castle Garden, and soon afterward joined the father and son at Collmer. In the following year they moved to East Cleveland, and in 1861 William Datson, who had then just reached maturity, went to Townsend, now Collins in Huron County, and six months later was joined by his parents and the rest of the family. Some years later the parents returned to East Cleveland, where Mrs. Datson died in 1876 when past sixty years of age. William Datson, the father, went to Youngstown, Ohio, and when nearly ninety years of age passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Jesse Stephens. The names of the children were Richard, William, Ann, Jemima, Amelia, Susie, Mary, James and John. All of these reached adult years, all married, and children were born to all of them except two. The four still living are Richard, William, Susie and Mary. As has been suggested, the Datson family were not people who possessed large means before they found homes in the United States. Consequently William Datson had to become partially self supporting at a time when most boys were at school. At the age of ten he was employed on an oyster boat at 25 cents per week, and the food supply was such that nearly all the time he was half starved. By the time he was fourteen he was mate on a hundred-ton vessel plying the waters of the Thames and Medway. This was his regular vocation until nearly nineteen years of age, and he might have continued a seafaring career had not the family determined about that time to move to America. He was, just on the point of being made captain of a vessel when the duty devolved upon him of accompanying his mother and brothers and sisters to the United States. After his arrival in Huron County as above noted he performed all kinds of labor and helped to establish the family, and at the same time managed to save some money of his own. In 1865 this modest, capital was invested in eight acres in Berlin Township of Erie County. From time to time he increased his small holdings, having the co-operation of his good wife in this laudable enterprise, and at the present time has a valuable small farm of thirty-four acres, all of it rich soil, and with an orchard of about 1,000 fruit trees. He owns a substantial home, has barns and other buildings, and is able to face the future without dread. Mr. Datson was first married at Cleveland to Miss Sarah Cook, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, in October, 1840, and came to the United States when quite young and located in Erie County. She died at the home of her mother in Berlin Township in 1867. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By this marriage there was one daughter, Helen I., who was born July 28, 1863, and is now the wife of James Buck, a farmer implement dealer at Berlinville, their two children are named Ina and Esther both of whom were well educated in high school, and Ina is now the wife of Edward Riggs and has a daughter Helen. 662 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY On November 16, 1870, Mr. Datson married, in Erie County, Mary Bogart. She was born in Albany County, New York, March 17, 1849, and was two years of age when she came to Florence Township, Erie County, with her parents James and Hannah M. (Spore) Begart. Both her father and mother were born in-the month of May, 1819, the former on the 18th and the latter on the 6th, and were married October 30, 1845. They came to Ohio in 1851 with their only daughter, lived for several years in Florence Township, and later moved to Berlin Township, where they died, the father on April 18, 1893, and the mother on August 10, 1885. She was a member of the Methodist Church, and in politics fie was an active and ardent republican. To the Bogart family were born two daughters after they came to Erie County, Eugenia, who is wife of Albert Robert of Berlin Township, and has a son, Jesse ; and Henrietta, who married Charles Cables, but is now deceased. .Mr. and Mrs. Datson have three daughters. Retta was born November 5, 1872, and died at the age of ten months. Myra, born February 15, 1874, is the wife of William D. Daugherty, general agent for the. Nickel Plate Railway at Avery and also postmaster of that village. Edith A., born March 2, 1877, died April 7th of the same year. Mr. and Mrs. Datson are members of the Methodist Church, and he has beeil a regular voter of the prohibition ticket since the time of St. John. CHARLES A. HARDY. The most conspicuous group of first settlers in Erie County included those people- who came out early in the nineteenth century to occupy the lands set aside under the title "Fire Lands" for the benefit of the settlers on the Atlantic Coast who suffered from the invasion of the British. Quite a goodly number of the descendants' of these fire land settlers are to be found in Erie County, and it is of this old and substantial stock that Charles A. Hardy- comes. Mr. Hardy has a substantial home in Berlin Township, along the Rural Route No. 2 out of Berlin Heights. His lineage is English, and the family for a generation or more resided in New York State. His grandfather was Samuel S. Hardy, who was born in New York State' about 1790. He became a lumberman and farmer and married Miss Foster. In the fall of 1830 they came with wagons and teams across the wide intervening distance 4o what is now known as the John Kurtz farm in Berlin Township. The land they secured was not obtained directly from the Government, but its previous owners had made no improvement, and their first home was in the unbroken wilderness. They constructed a log cabin as their first habitation, and Samuel spent many months in clearing off the virgin forests to make room for his first crops. The grain he raised among the stumps was threshed out with a flail, and in the early days they cooked their food in kettles hung from the crane in the chimney. Samuel S. Hardy and wife died in that homestead, he in 1845 and his widow, some years later. Their daughter Flora was willed the estate of 100 acres as a reward for having devoted many of the best years Of her life to the care of her mother, and she married when quite old, but left no children. The other children in the family were Minerva, Eri, Adelia. Ara, Edith, Celia and Volny. All these children married and all had children of their own. Volny Hardy was born in New York State in 1820 and was about ten years of age when he came to Erie County. Circumstances did not permit him obtaining a liberal education and from early years he took his place as a working member of the household and assisted in developing the wild farm to cultivated fields. He also learned the trade of cabinet maker, and followed that with some success until his death, when about thirty-three years of age. He was married in Berlin Township to Eme- PICTURE OF CHARLES A. HARDY HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 663 line Fox. She was born in Berlin Township upon the old Fox estate, now a part of the farm owned by Mr. Charles A. Hardy. She died at her old home in 1896. She was one of the youngest among eight children born to Anson and Susan (Mingus) Fox, both of whom were natives of Connecticut, and came during the decade of the '20s to Ohio and bought a tract of the fire lands situated in what is now the northern part of Berlin Township. They secured this quarter section direct from the Government, and thus were original occupants of this noted district in Northern Ohio. As early settlers they possessed all the more prominent characteristics of the true pioneer type. Their first home was a log cabin and it required years of self sacrifice and toil to provide the comforts which they handed on to succeeding generations. In the early days their home was surrounded by the primeval forest through which roamed the Indians and all kinds of wild game and animals, and they enacted the rugged and simple annals of courageous frontier people. A number of the Fox family were Spiritualists in religion, while the Hardys were Methodists. Charles A. Hardy was the third in a family of four children. The oldest, Andrew, died after his marriage. Anna is the widow of George Ashman and lives in Defiance. Alfred died unmarried at Defiance at the age of fifty-seven. Charles A. Hardy was born August 20, 1849. After his education, which came partly from the schools and partly from his early initiative into the duties and responsibilities of the household, he took up farming as his vocation, and for many years has been one of the able agriculturists of Berlin Township. His farm now comprises 122 acres, and he and his good wife now enjoy the comforts of a new residence, built in modern style and with nine rooms. He also has an excellent farm and other outbuildings, and owns another farm occupied by his son, which also has good improvements. Thirty-eight years ago in Berlin Township Mr. Hardy married Miss Capitola Gardner. She was born in Corry in Northwestern Pennsylvania, January 28, 1859, but when six years of age was brought to Erie County, Ohio, and grew up and received her education in this locality. Mrs. Hardy has proved a devoted wife and an excellent mother, and she and her husband have made their home noted for its generous hospi7_ tality. Mrs. Hardy is one of the excellent cooks in Berlin Township, and that accomplishment is only one of the many things which make their home a place of pleasureable entertainment for their many friends. Mrs. Hardy is a daughter of Leroy and Rosa (Brown) Gardner. Her father was born in New York State and her mother in Pennsylvania, and they were married in the latter state and came from there to Erie County. Here her mother died in 1887 at the age of forty-eight. Her father is still living and is seventy-nine years of age. He has been three times married. Two sons have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hardy. Andrew L. is a farmer on his father's place in Berlin Township and is also a blacksmith by trade ; by his marriage to Christine Hasle of Berlin Township he has four children : Volney, Vivian, Vesta and Victor. Carl A., the youngest son, was born December 29, 1895, and has also completed his education and assists his father in the management of the homestead. The family attend the Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Hardy and his sons are democrats. FRANK M. STEVENSON. Among the wholesome, thrifty and generous people of Berlin Township are to be numbered Mr. and Mrs. Frank M. Stevenson, who reside on their fine rural home near Berlin Heights, having the daily mail facilities over rural route No. 2. During the many 664 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY years they have lived there Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have surrounded themselves with all the things necessary to make life attractive ,in the country. Their home is a large nine-room two and a half story house with a good complement of other buildings, including a barn 30x50 feet, corn cribs, granaries, tool shed and a good orchard supplies all the fruit they need. Mrs. Stevenson, is a kindly hospitable housewife, while Mr. Stevenson shows to equal advantage as a successful farm manager. Born in Pittsfield, Lorain County, Ohio, June 12, 1864, Frank M. Stevenson is of old English family, a son of George and Mary (Speed) Stevenson, both of whom were natives of Lincolnshire, England. His father was born in 1827, and his wife was a few years younger. When each was about fourteen years of age they came with their respective parents to the United States. William and Almira Stevenson, the parents of George, located in Lorain County, where they spent the rest of their lives as farmers near LaGrange. They died when q,boi.4 eighty years of age. William and Ann Speed, the parents of Mrs. George Stevenson, located at Zanesville, Ohio, and died there when nearly ninety years of age. Both the Speed and Stevenson families 'were of the good old English stock, thrifty, pious, and well qualified to perform their own work in the world and rear children to lives of usefulness and honor. When the Stevenson family came to America in 1847 a sailing vessel carried them across the ocean and they were six weeks on the voyage. After their marriage George Stevenson and wife left Zanesville and moved to Pittsfield in Lorain County, where he gained a livelihood as a carpenter and mechanic and farmer. He died there thirty-five years ago when about fifty-two years of age, and his widow is still living in Lorain County at the age of seventy-nine, making her home with her daughter, Mrs. William Silic of LaGrange. George Stevenson and wife were people of earnest natures, were good neighbors, and in politics he was a strong republican. There were nine children in their family : John, who lives in Lorain County and has one son ; William, a farmer in Lorain County, who has been twice married and has three daughters; Ann, now deceased, who was the first wife of William Silic of Pittsfield, Lorain County ; Charles, who died at the early age of twenty-two years ; Frank M.. James, who is a farmer at Wellington in Lorain County and is married but has no children; Tillie, who is the second wife of William Silic of Lorain County, and the mother of four children ; Maud, who is the wife of Bert Gates of Lorain County, and has three children; and Thomas, who died at the age of fourteen years. It was in Lorain County that Frank M. Stevenson grew to manhood and acquired his early education. He trained for the life of' a farmer and he has made that vocation the foundation of a profitable and honorable career. From Lorain he came to Erie County, and was married in Berlin Township to Miss Eva Springer. Mrs. Stevenson was born on the farm which has ever since been her home. In its present form it comprises seventy-six acres of well cultivated and fertile soil, situated not far from Berlinville and Shinrock on the Berlinville road. Mrs. 'Stevenson was born there October 29, 1869, and gained her education in the public schools. She is a daughter of George Springer and a granddaughter of Job Springer. Her father was born in Ohio and her grandfather in New York State. The latter was married after coming to Ohio to Miss Sayles of Ohio, and they spent the rest of their lives in Berlin Township. George Springer, who is now retired, was for many years a farmer. Mrs. Stevenson's mother was Lodema V. Fuller, who was born on the farm now occupied by the Stevenson family on March 4, 1845, and spent her life in that community, where she died in 1900. She was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Stevenson HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 665 grew to womanhood in the home of her uncle and aunt, Waterman C. Fisk and his sister, Roby Ann Fisk. Her uncle Waterman died in Berlin Township at the age of ninety-eight, while his sister likewise enjoyed a long life, being seventy-seven when she died. Waterman Fisk was born May 1, 1809, and his sister May 23, 1819. They were natives of New York State, and when quite young moved to Erie County and were among the early settlers in Berlin Township. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have one son, Thomas Mathews Stevenson, who was born May 14, 1890, was reared and educated in Berlin Township and attended the Berlin Heights schools, and is still at home assisting in the management of the farm. Mr. Stevenson in politics is a republican. ADAM W. HASP. Farming is now both a practical and scientific business and many of the most successful farmers are pursuing it according to the intensive method, making one acre grow what the old-fashioned husbandmen produced on two or three acres. A conspicuous illustration' of this method is found in the enterprise of Adam W. Hast, now one of the largest land owners in Berlin Township in the country adjacent to the lake shore. Mr. Hast had hard work in getting a start, was a renter for a number of years, but since gaining a foothold has made rapid progress in. the accumulation of material prosperity and in directing the operations of an increasing estate. He is one of the progressive farther citizens of Erie County, and there are few who have more to show for their work. Though nearly all his life has been spent in Erie County, Mr. Halt was born in Hessen-Nassau, Germany, October 6, 1862, a son of Adam and Anna Catherine (Miller) Hast. His mother was a daughter o f William Miller, a native of Luedersdorf, Germany, and a farmer and a wagonmaker by trade. Adam Hast, Sr., belonged to an old Hessen-Nassau family, and they had lived in the old town of Neidernaula for more than a century. They were of the farming class. While he lived in Germany Adam Hast and wife had three children born to them : Jennie, Adam W. and Sophia. Then in the winter of 1866 he started out alone to investigate the opportunities of the New World. He embarked on a sailing vessel at Bremen. This vessel when about three days' sail from New York encountered a terrific storm which nearly swamped the boat and drove it back on its course so that for two or three weeks they were driven first one way and then another and nearly two months after the start the ship limped into the harbor at Liverpool. There the seven hundred passengers were transferred to a steam vessel and carried on to New York City. It was ninety-two days from the time Mr. Hast left Bremen before he was safely landed in New York. In the meantime while three of the passengers died, there were three births, so that the number that landed was the same as that which started. Adam Hast went on into the interior, spent a short time in Illinois, and in the meantime sent for his wife and children. They came across and he joined them at Brownhelm in Lorain County, Ohio. In that county Adam Hast, Sr. bought a small farm, and lived there until 1877, when he moved to Erie County and acquired fifty acres of the old Douglas homestead situated on the lake shore in Berlin Township. Adam Hast continued to live there, made many improvements, and prospered in a quiet way until his death on April 19, 1911. His widow now lives with her youngest daughter Mrs. Henry Hartman, and is now eighty-four years of age, having been born March 11, 1.831. Both she and her husband were confirmed when children in the German Reformed Church. Her husband was a democrat in politics. A record of their children is as follows: Jennie is the wife of Charles Brown of Bremen, Ohio, and they have a son and two daugh- Vol. II-13 666 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY ters. The next one in age is Adam W. Sophia is the wife of Charles Douglas, and they live at Florence in the state of Arizona, where Mr. DOuglas is a miner and fruit farmer. Anna is the wife of George Hartman, a successful farmer and fruit grower and horse breeder and now serving as township trustee of Berlin, where he and his wife live and have a son and two daughters. Catherine is the wife of Henry Hartman, living on the old Hast homestead near the lake shore. Adam W. Hast was reared and educated in Berlin Township and after reaching his majority started out to turn his previous training to profitable account as a farmer. He rented land for nine years, farming the old Theodore Hine place just outside the corporation limits of Berlin Heights. With the accumulations of these years he bought eighty acres of land where he now lives. His home is one of the most attractive in Berlin Township, has all the conveniences and comforts, and is beautifully situated. It is a fine old-fashioned home, a large white building with twelve rooms, and nearby are two barns, one 28x32 feet and ,another 32x50 feet. Since buying this land Mr. Hast has made rapid progress, and later bought a small place of sixteen acres and from time to time other land until his ownership now extends to more than-250 acres, all in Berlin Township. His farming enterprise is diversified and extends to the raising of fine stock, large crops of wheat, corn, oats and potatoes, and he is also one of the large fruit growers along the lake shore. On his lake shore farm he has a nine-acre peach orchard, and at his home place he has four acres in apples, one acre in peaches and two acres in pears. While gaining this valuable stake in Erie County Mr. Hast has also reared and provided liberally for a large family. He was married in Vermilion Township to Bertha Ackerman, who was born in that township May 3, 1867, and was educated in the public schools. She is a daughter of German parents, Fred and Eliza (Kothe) Ackerman, both now deceased, having married and spent many years in Vermilion Township. Sophia, who was the first child born into the home oof Mr. and Mrs. Hast, was born January 8, 1887, was graduated from the Berlin Heights High School in 1904, subsequently graduated from the Oberlin Business College, spent several years at Sandusky as deputy county recorder, and is now the wife of Warren Croll, living at Akron, and they have a son named Robert. Lydia, the second of the family, was born October 3, 1888, graduated in 1905 from the high school at Berlin Heights, later attended Oberlin Summer School, and attended school at Athens, Ohio, spent four years in successful work as a teacher, and is now married to Ralph Cobb, a farmer in Berlin Township, and their one son is named Edwin. Frederick William, born August 28, 1890, graduated from the high school at Berlin Heights in 1910, spent one year in the Ohio State University, and is now a promising young man who assists his father in the management of the farm. Clara A. born April 20, 1892, graduated from high school in the class of 1910, subsequently graduated from the Oberlin Business College, and is now connected with the Kelley Plastering Company at Sandusky. Harold Oscar, born April 22, 1896, completed his education and is still at home. Elizabeth, born August 23, 1898, is a member of the class of 1916 in the Berlin Heights High School. Adam W., Jr., was born April 9, 1902, Florence was born September 1, 1905, both being in school, and the youngest is Bertha, born April 27, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Hast are active members of the Congregational Church at Berlin Heights, and he is one of the trustees of the church. He and his son Fred are democrats in national politics, but exercise a wise discretion in their choice of local candidates. Mr. Hast mad his sons are members of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 391 at Berlin Heights, HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 667 and the father is a past chancellor of the order and has been a delegate to the state grand lodge in Cincinnati. He is also a member of the Woodmen of the World at Shinrock, has passed through all the chairs of the local camp, and has attended the state lodge at Sandusky. JAMES DOUGLASS. For more than eighty years the Douglass family has had its seat in Erie County. The late James Douglass is well remembered by the older settlers for his solid ability and worth as a farmer in Berlin Township, and for his prominence in local affairs and both local and state politics. Mrs. Douglass is still living and occupying a part of the old homestead, situated on Rural Route No. 2 out of Huron and is one of the notable women of her locality. For many years she was active with her husband in the Patrons of Husbandry, and is still active as a member of the Berlin Heights Tuesday Tourist Club, before which organization she has read numerous papers. The ancestry of this family goes back to one of the oldest and most conspicuous clans of Scotland. The Douglass Clan wore the plaid and for many generations its members were connected with the most historic events in Scotland. The most prevalent Christian name in the family was Robert, and both the grandfather and the father of the late James Douglass bore that name. Robert Douglass, Sr., lived and died in Jeddborough, Scotland, where was one of the old homes of the family. Robert Douglass, Jr., was born in Dumfries in 1793, grew up in Scotland, learned the trade of millwright, and in his native city married Mary Black, who was also of good Scotch stock. After their marriage they, continued to reside in Scotland a few years and during that time Agnes, Margaret and Robert were born to them. While these were still small children they embarked on a sailing vessel, and encountered a tempestuous sea and spent eleven weeks before landing at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, In Canada Robert Douglass became proprietor of a hotel at Hamilton, and lived there a number of years, during which time his children, George, Mary and James were born. In 1830 Robert Douglass was induced to remove to Buffalo, New York, and became interested in a brewery. At the end of three years the business had become( badly involved and the partner ran away and left Mr. Douglass with all the obligations. He never lost courage, nor did his wife, and she assisted him during that critical time by making shirts for the lake sailors at 25 cents apiece. About this time Mr. Douglass met Harlow CaSe, who was then postmaster at Buffalo. Mr. Case's stepfather, Judge Almon Ruggles, owned 640 acres of land in Berlin Township of Erie County, Ohio. Robert Douglass accepted the invitation to go to Erie County and secure employment. Thus in 1833 he came out to this new country, and soon showed such capacity for business that Judge Ruggles sold him fifty acres of fine land on the lake shore, with liberal credit and time. This land was all wild and uncultivated except five acres. Judge Ruggles thus showed his keen judgment of men and secured a good neighbor in Robert Douglass. Robert Douglass spent the rest of his active life in Berlin Township, reared his family well, and became, prominent in a local way. In addition to farming he also worked as a cooper for some years. He died in 1868 and his widow later went to Toledo and died there in the fall of 1874 at the age of eighty-four. They were members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and he was first a whig and later a republican in politics. He also wielded facile pen- and was quite well known locally as a poet. In addition to the children already mentioned as born in Scotland and Canada there were three others, Betsey, Isabel and Letitia, who were probably born in New York State, and all were married except Betsey and Letitia, and all are now deceased. 668 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. The late James Douglass was born at Hamilton, Canada, June 10, 1824, and came into the world strong and healthy and with a good endowment of intellect. He grew up in Erie County from the age of nine years, and acquired his education in local schools. On reaching his majority he began earning his own way in the world, invested his earnings in land, and altogether accumulated about 230 acres, most of which were developed into highly cultivated tracts for the growing of fruit and other crops. He became well known in many ways, was prominent in the democratic party, and in 1874 was elected a member of the Legislature and was re-elected. He represented his district altogether for eight years. In 1882 he was elected to the office of county commissioner, in which he served two terms of three years each. His- most important office came with his appointment in 1890 as a raember of the State Board of Equalization, to the duties of which he gave his time and judgment for two years. The late James Douglass died at his home in Erie County August 1, 1899, at the age of seventy-five. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and for many years was one of the most conspicuous leaders in the Patrons of Husbandry, serving as master both in the local and state granges. He was also connected' with school affairs. James Douglass was married in Berlin Township November 24, 1857, to Miss Cornelia A. King, who was born at Randolph, New York, January 5, 1833. Mrs. Douglass has lived in Erie County since 1834, having grown up in this part of the state. Since her husband's death she has occupied the old home with twenty-five acres of surrounding land, and that is one of the beauty spots along the lake shore in Bkrlin Township. Her home is a popular gathering place for a large circle of friends, and all have a hearty welcome under her hospitable roof. Mrs. Douglass is a daughter of Gideon King, and a granddaughter of Gideon King, Sr. Her grandfather was an early settler at Randolph, Cattaraugus County, New York, and married Diantha Pixley, and both died at Randolph. Gideon, Jr., was born in Randolph, New York, November 15, 1795, and married Maria Hopkins, who was of the same family as Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. She was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, July 10, 1799, a daughter of Moses Hopkins. The children of Gideon and Maria, were all born in New York, and in 1834 the family came out to Erie County, Ohio. From Buffalo they took a boat to Huron and after two years in Berlin Township went to the Village of Norwalk, spent ten years there, and in 1845 returned to Berlin Township. Gideon King thereafter was a farmer in this township and died there in January, 1879. He was survived by his widow, who passed away at the age of eighty-eight, and was strong in intellect to the last. Both of them were active members of the Presbyterian Church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Douglass, were as follows : William L., who was born in October, 1865, was well trained and educated, and is now a prominent farmer, the owner of a fine place on the lake near the old homestead where he grows large crops, particularly peaches, to which fruit he has many acres planted; he married Anna Hill, a native of Pennsylvania, and without children of their own they have adopted a daughter, Winifred, who is now attending school. Dr. James King Douglass, the second child, was graduated from, the University of Michigan in the dental department in 1894, and now has a fine practice at Sandusky ; he married Maora Hill of Berlin Heights; and they have a daughter, Elizabeth, aged thirteen and now in the eighth grade of the public schools. Mary, who was born on the old farm in 1872, and was educated in the public schools and in the Northern Ohio Normal . HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 669 School at Ada, became a teacher, and in 1900 married George S. Cook. Mr. Cook, who managed the homestead of Mrs. Douglass for some years, died July 31, 1914; he was a prominent member of Mark Lodge No. 359, A. F. & A. M., and had passed most of the chairs in that order and was also affiliated with the Berlin Heights Lodge in the Knights of Pythias, in which he was past chancellor. WILLIAM CHARLES HEYMANN. From the earliest years of settlement Erie county's position on the Lake Erie shore has brought many substantial benefits to that locality, and not least among these is the large fishing industry which has important centers in the various lake ports along the south side of this fresh water sea. In alluding to the various families and individuals who have been most prominent in this business, foremost mention must be given to the Heymanns who for more than half a century have been identified with the business at Huron. Huron also claims the citizens of that name as among its most substantial men, and their.industry has contributed in no small degree to the importance and prosperity of the village. The late William Charles Heymann, whose two sons now carry on the active affairs of the business which he began before the Civil war, was born in Kaltenholzhausen, Nassau, Germany, March 1, 1834, and lived to be more than four score years of age. He came of strong and wholesome stock, his ancestors having been of the pastoral class of Germans, people of limited means but of most honest and industrious character. The father was Conrad Heymann, who reared a large family of children and endowed them with strong bodies and a willingness to work, characteristics which without any other advantages would certainly work to their credit and honorable stations in life. Most of these children founded homes in free America, and a number of them became identified with Erie county, Ohio. William Charles Heymann was fourteen years of age and had completed the course of the common schools in Germany, when he left the fatherland and with a party of neighbors and possibly some of his relatives came to seek his fortune in the New World. The record of his early life and experience is now largely a matter of tradition, and it is believed that when he left Germany he passed through France and took passage on some boat at a French port, believed to be Havre. He was at least eight weeks on this vessel before it reached Castle Garden, New York, and thence he came by river and canal to Buffalo and up the lake to the welcome shores of Northern Ohio. The village of Huron was then a small but thriving lake port, and one of the favorite harbors and shipping points of the early days. His early training in honest and industrious habits profited him from the instant he arrived in Huron. The first ten years he applied himself with willing heart and hand to any occupation which promised legitimate returns and some possibilities of advancement. He had the qualities of efficiency and fidelity and never had to be pressed in order to perform his tasks in the best possible manner. Thus his services were in demand, and there was never a time in this early portion of his career when he had to seek employment. After he had lived in the country for some time his parents and other members of the family came to America, and all of them became identified with the State of Ohio. William C. Heymann was still a boy in his teens when he was given the responsibility of looking after a grain elevator at Milan in Erie County. The manager of that elevator was unable to perform his duties on account of illness, and for one year the business entirely devolved upon the shoulders of young Heymann. It was the first important test of his real capacity for business, and he not only gave close attention to 670 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY his work but kept his accounts so straight that he was not only complimented by his employer but given a substantial bonus in recognition of his work. Later he was given a place by the Wickham Company in charge of their grain elevator, and the trustworthy manner in which he performed his duties soon gave him a larger outlook on business and he was promoted to the position of fish buyer for the Wickham concern. He also bought for Charles Ryan, another prominent fish dealer of that time. Thus he was gradually drawn into the industry which for so many years he followed and on which he built up his substantial fortune. About 1860 Mr. Heymann took up the independent business of dealing in lake fish and also acquired the equipment- and entered into the field as a producer or catcher. He operated both in Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, but his headquarters were always in Huron. His ,operations soon brought him to a position among the largest fish takers out of these lakes. The late Mr. Heymann was active in the management of his large business until 1903, and in that time his name became familiar through his dealings with All the important commission, wholesale and retail fish houses in both the West and the East. Mr. Heymann was one of the very few men in the business in Northern Ohio whose career contains no record of failure or important reverses. He was energetic, conservative in his business methods, kept a judicious watch upon both the productive and the selling ends of the business, and managed his .assets so well that he could always discount his bills. In Erie county he was regarded not only as a successful business man but a citizen of high ideals and of sterling worth. At his home on Williams street in Huron his death occurred February 24, 1915, at the end of a long and fruitful career. William C. Heymann was a member of the German Reformed Church,. in politics a very decided democrat, and for a number of years has been a member of the town council and for one term held the office of mayor. He was married in Huron to Miss Catherine Elizabeth Koch, who was about two years older than her husband and was born in Nassau in the same locality that contained his birthplace. When she was a young girl she accompanied her mother and stepfather to the United States and grew to womanhood in Huron. She is still living at the old William Street home, and well preserved and active for her advanced years. Her husband owed to her much of his success in life, since she was active and sympathetic with him in all his business ventures and a splendid home maker and mother. William C. Heymann and wife were the parents of the following children : Louisa, wife of William Shepherd of Huron, and the mother of children ; Mary, who died after her marriage to Robert Truett, without children ; Henry, who died in childhood; Charles, the first of that name, who died in infancy ; Libby, wife of Eugene Yarrick, and the mother of one son; Lydia, who lives at home with her mother ; Sarah, who died in childhood ; Caroline, who is the wife of Robert Cooper, a carpenter at Cleveland ; Charles F. and John P., the successors of their father in business; Anna, who died in early childhood ; and Otto, who also died young. Charles F. Heymann, who with his brother John P., has long been identified with the industry which his father established many years ago, was born in Huron, April 20, 1869. He was reared and educated in his native village, and when a young man -took up the work of fisherman and has made that the basis of his successful career. Both he and his brother have beautiful modern homes on Center street, one of the best residential streets in Huron. Charles F. Heymann married Cora Rhinemiller, who was born and reared and educated in Huron County, a daughter of John Rhinemiller, who with his wife was born in the HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 671 United States, was a farmer, and a Presbyterian and democrat. Charles F. Heymann and wife have two daughters, Ethel L., aged seventeen and a student in high school, and Audrey Marjorie, who is now in the eighth grade of the Huron public schools. John P. Heymann, the second of the sons who have proved such worthy successors as business men to their honored father and hare done much to increase the substantial fortune acquired by the elder Heymann, was born in Huron, July 17, 1871, and received his education in his home village. At the age .of sixteen he began gaining a practical experience in the fishing industry, and he and his brother subsequently bought out their father, and have been associated more or less closely for twenty-two years. For greater convenience of operation they subsequently separated the business into two branches, and are now operating independently, John being at head of the branch of the business known as "Pound Fishing" while Charles operates the "Devil Net" or "Trap Fishing." Together they give employment to a large number of mem, have a large amount 4:if capital invested in boats, nets and other equipment, maintain a large warehouse in Huron, and have established connections with all the larger cities of both East and West. John P. Heymann married Miss Elizabeth Seiling, who was reared and educated in Ohio, where her parents, of German stock, were substantial farmers. John Heymann and wife have the following children: Edna E., a student in high school ; William Charles, now in the seventh grade of the public schools; Oliver Wendell, aged seven years; Virginia, aged two; and John, Jr., an infant who was born May 26, 1915. John P. Heymann and wife and his brother and family all attend the Presbyterian Church. HENRY W. SMITH. Among the old and honored families of Erie County of German origin must be mentioned that of which Henry W. Smith is a prominent representative. He and others of the name have been identified with agricultural and industrial development many years and in numerous ways have made their influence felt to the advantage of the locality. For thirty-three years Henry W. Smith has been a general farmer in Berlin Township, his farm being bounded by two of the well-traveled thoroughfares of that township. He has lived there since 1882, and owns ninety acres of fine land, well watered by Chappell Creek. Nearly all of it is in cultivation, and its crops are mainly wheat, corn and oats, and he keeps some graded live stock, horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. He has a special distinction among Erie County farmers as an extensive and scientific grower of ginseng and golden seal, and for several years has made this a very profitable feature of his business. His land seems particularly well adapted for these specific crops. While the building improvements on his land are quite old, they are kept in the best of repair, and altogether he has one of the valuable estates of Berlin Township. The family located in. Erie County in the early half of the nineteenth century. Henry W. Smith was born in Vermilion Township October 16, 1850, a son of John and Louisa (Cook) Smith. Both parents were natives of Germany, his father born at Blockheim in 1825, while his mother was born in 1828. They were still children when brought by their respective families to the United States. Both families made the journey in sailing vessels, starting from Bremen and landing at Baltimore. The Smiths and the Cooks came on west to Erie County, and arrived here in time to share in the pioneer development. Grandfather John Smith died in Erie County when quite an old man, and the same was true of Grandfather Henry Cook. Both families were members 672 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY of the Reformed Church, and in politics practically all in the successive generations have been democrats. John Smith and Louisa Cook both grew up in Erie County, and after their marriage started out with eighty-five acres of wild land in Vermilion Township. This was the scene of their continued activities for many years, in the course of which their land was transformed into a fertile and productive farm. John Smith died on that farm in 1899 and his wife passed away in 1912. They were Reformed Church people and he a democrat. .Of their twelve children, three died young, while all the others reached-maturity and five are now living and have children of their own. The oldest in the family, Henry W. Smith, grew to manhood on the old farm, and had to work hard even when a schoolboy. During several terms of •his school attendance his duties required that he haul a cord of wood to Vermilion, three miles away from his home, each Morning before taking his books and walking to school, and the same task had to be repeated after school hours in the evening. In the spring of 1882, a few weeks before removing to ,his present farm, Mr. Smith married Eva C. Fischer. She was born in Brownhelm Township of Lorain County, March 10, 1853, but when she was still a child her parents removed to Erie County and she was reared and educated in Berlin Township. Her parents were Henry and Catherine (Reiber) Fischer, both natives of Germany, and coming to this country when quite young, with their respective parents, both the Fischers and Reibers settling in Lorain County. Mrs. Smith's parents were farmers in that county and later in Berlin Township, where her father died at the age of sixty-five. Her mother is still living in the township and preserves her vigorous mentality and physical health, though, at the venerable age of eighty-seven. The Fischers were likewise active members of the German Reformed Church, and Mr. Fischer was a democrat in politics. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith took up the work of improvement on the farm which has been mentioned, and where they have lived steadily and prosperingly for upwards of thirty-five years. All their children were born on the farm, and a brief record of this younger generation is as follows: Alvina is now the wife of Philip Sprankal, a farmer in Berlin Township, and they have a daughter named Eva C. Catherine, the second child, is the wife. o f Arthur J. Soult, residing in Norwalk, Huron County, and they have a daughter Catherine. Henry W., Jr., now twenty-four, received his education, as did the other children, in the graded schools, and is now associated with his brother Nicholas in the ownership and management of a farm of eighty acres in Berlin township, and are both, progressive and enterprising young men, still unmarried. Louisa died when five years and six months old. The son Nicholas, next in age, has been mentioned. Eva C., Marjorie and John A. are still young and living with their parents. Mr. Smith and his older sons are democrats, and nearly all members of the family are active in Florence Grange No. 1844 of the Patrons of Husbandry. WILLIAM G. FITCH, and his father before him were native sons of the State of Ohio, both born in Sherman Township, Huron County. Lewis Fitch, father of the subject, was a son of Jonathan Fitch, who was born in Connecticut and came to Huron County as a young man, settling there in 1816 in the township where his son and grandson were born. He built a log cabin in the heart of the wilderness, got his home in readiness for his bride, returned to Connecticut and brought back his young wife to their new home in the West. They were forty-five days making the trip with a team and wagon, crossing the Allegheny Mountains and PICTURE OF G. E. RHINEMILLER HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY - 673 stopping wherever night overtook them. The trip was fraught with a good many inconveniences, but they were undaunted by any of them, and brought to their wilderness home the courage and independence that dominated the early life of our country and made possible the conditions that exist today. In 1817 Jonathan Fitch settled permanently in Sherman Township, and when he died he was eighty-six years old and one of the best loved men in the community. His wife lived to the age of sixty- six years, and they reared a family of seven children. Lewis Fitch was reared in Sherman Township, and there he married Jane Wright. They were the.parents of five children, and the father lived to the age of sixty-six. He died-at Monroeville, Ohio, where he spent his last years. His widow still survives him and is now eighty- six years of age. William G. Fitch came up to manhood in Sherman Township, Huron County, and had his education in the public schools. In 1889, when he was thirty-two years old, he married Katie Andrews, who was born in England, and was a daughter of Joseph Andrews, late of Groton Township. Two children were born to them : Roy J. L. and Genevieve. Mr. Fitch settled on the farm which is now the family homey in 1895. The farm contains two hundred acres, and is the property of Fitch Brothers, the subject being one of the owners. It is a prosperous place and yields a nice income to its owners. It is located most advantageously, and is reckoned to be one of the best farms in Erie County. Mr. Fitch is a republican and a man of much public spirit and devotion to the welfare of the community. He has served for several years on the local school board,, and while he was a resident of Sherman Township he served for years in a similar capacity. He was also a member of the election board of Sherman Township for some years. His career in Groton Township has been most creditable to him, and he richly deserves the high standing he enjoys in the community. GEORGE E. RHINEMILLER. That energy, circumspection, ambition and progressiveness have been the dominating forces in the business career of this representative citizen of the younger generation in the City of Huron needs no further voucher than the fact that he has achieved pronounced success entirely through his own initiative and well-ordered endeavors. His civic loyalty and enterprise have kept pace with his personal advancement, and to him is due the credit of having erected one of the finest business buildings in the thriving little City of Huron, the same being used for his admirably equipped automobile garage, salesrooms and repair shop. He began his business career with virtually but nominal capitalistic resources, and has had the judgment to discern his maximum potential in his present field of enterprise, in which he has built up a large and substantial business. Further interest attaches to his career by reason of his being a native son of Erie County and one whose loyalty has caused him to pay to the same his unwavering allegiance and to find here ample opportunity for productive business activities. In 1912 Mr. Rhinemiller erected, on South Main Street, his present fireproof garage building, which is of brick and steel construction, three stories in height, 50x80 feet in dimensions, and modern in all equip-. ments and appointments, the front portion of the second floor being arranged for office purposes. The general garage is 30x80 feet in dimensions and the. repair shop has the best of mechanical equipment and all necessary accessories customarily found in a first-class department of this order. Mr. Rhinemiller has the agency for the Oldsmobile, the Chandler and Chevrolet motor cars and the Vim light delivery cars, and his assigned territory covers both Erie and Huron counties, throughout which he has developed a splendid business in these standard vehicles. 674 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY The general facilities of the Rhinemiller garage and repair shop are not excelled by any establishment of the kind in Ohio, and in a review of this nature it is unnecessary to enter into details concerning the fine business which Mr. Rhinemiller has built up through his industry and excellent executive ability. As distributing agent for the motor vehicles named he employs an assistant agent at Berlin Heights and also ii the City of Norwalk. It may be noted that his repair shop is equipped with a gasoline motor of 7 1/2 horsepower, the same providing for the operation of the lathe and drilling m4chinery, all accessories being of the most modern type. Mr. Rhinemiller established his initial business enterprise in 1908, when, with a capital of only $40, he engaged in the implement trade at Huron. Later he developed a substantial sand and cement trade, and since January, 1915, he has given his exclusive attention to the automobile business, of which he has become one of the most successful representative's in this section of the state. For the site of his present business building he purchased an entire block of land, with a frontage of sixty- six feet on Main Street and running back to Williams Street. In 'addition to this modern building Mr. Rhinemiller has recently completed the erection of his attractive and modern house of nine rooms, on South Williams Street, and he is known and honored as one of the most alert and progressive young business men of his native county as well as a citizen whose co-operation is always assured in the furtherance of measures projected for the general good of the community, his political support being given to the cause of the republican party. On the homestead farm of his father, in Huron Township, two ,miles east of the City of Huron Mr. Rhinemiller was born on the 25,th of September, 1884, and in addition to availing himself of the advantages of the public schools of Huron he completed an effective technical course of study along mechanical lines in the celebrated International Correspondence School, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, thus fortifying himself in a practical way for the line of enterprise in which he is now engaged. He is a son of John and Margaret Rhinemiller, both of whom were born and reared in Huron Township, where the respective families were founded in an early day, the old homestead that was the place of his birth having been still the abiding place of John Rhinemiller at the time of his death, and his active identification with agricultural pursuits in Erie County having continued from his early youth until he was called from the stage of his mortal endeavors, his death having been of tragic order,' While driving to his home he was killed on a grade crossing of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, a crossing that he had passed over hundreds of times. He was struck by the engine of a fast train and his death was virtually instantaneous, this sad accident having occurred on the 10th of January, 1912, and his age at the time of his death having been sixty-seven years, five months and five days. He was a man of the highest integrity, was earnest, sincere and loyal in all the relations of life, and he commanded impregnable vantage-place in the confidence and good will of all who knew him. His success was achieved through honest industry and in addition to his farming operations he became specially well known through his operation of a threshing outfit, in which he kept his equipment up too the best standard at all times and found requisition for his services throughout a wide area of country in his native county. His operations in this line covered a period of forty-four consecutive years. Mr. Rhinemiller was a republican in his political proclivities and held minor township offices. His devoted and bereaved wife survived him by exactly one year and was summoned to the life eternal on the 8th of January, 1913, when about sixty years of age, both she and her husband having been members of the Presbyterian Church. John Rhinemiller was